Cafe Pharoah storms home to defend February Stakes crown under returning rider

Cafe Pharoah made it back-to-back wins in the Group 1 February Stakes at Tokyo on Sunday, beating 15 rivals by two and a half lengths and up to secure the giant first prize of nearly £800,000.

The Noriyuki Hori-trained five-year-old raced in fourth on the outside of the field initially under Yuichi Fukunaga, before making his move to the front at the top of the home straight.

He kept on to win fairly comfortably from frontrunning outsider T M South Dan, while the all-white Sodashi was another half-length back in third. The winning rime of 1m 33.80sec equalled the record for the Tokyo dirt mile course.

Cafe Pharoah, a son of American Pharoah out of More Than Ready mare Mary's Follies, was winning his sixth race on his 11th start, with his CV also including two Group 3 victories.

For winning rider Fukunaga, it made for a fine return having been off injured since falling from Pixie Knight in the melee that blighted the Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in mid-December.

Fukunaga said: "I was able to start according to our strategy, and I was careful not to upset the horse. I paid attention to the start. I felt that his mood would change to some extent depending on whether I could take a position or not.

"His start was not so fast but we were able to recover well and get a good position outside near the front, so that we didn't receive the kick-back sand. I took care not to get out, not to get tired and to keep his concentration."

He added: "I received the call-up for the ride before I'd returned yet I strongly felt that I had to accept it. I really wanted to be trusted and meet the expectations of the people who requested me, and I think I was able to do a good job today."

Sodashi's rider Hayato Yoshida said: "I was sceptical but I was relieved to get a result on the dirt. The track condition and post position were good and helped us. She put up with going through the gate and didn't hate the kick-back sand."

Good Morning Bloodstock is Martin Stevens's cracking daily email newsletter. Martin, a doyen among bloodstock journalists, provides his take and insight on the biggest stories every morning from Monday to Friday. Sign up for free through the link above