Moanin, a York-bred son of Henny Hughes, unleashed a quick turn of foot at the top of the stretch and continued his momentum for a 1 1/4-length victory in the February Stakes (Jpn-I) at Tokyo Racecourse Feb. 21.

Sent off as the second choice from post position 14 in the 16-horse field, Moanin was ridden by Mirco Demuro in track-record time of 1:34 for the mile on a muddy main track. Moanin tracked the early pace from fourth and fifth until the final turn and was briefly checked at the top of the stretch before unleashing a powerful kick to defeat favored Nokono Yume, who also closed in the lane.

Trained by Sei Ishizaka, Moanin has won six of seven starts, with one third in the Negeshi Stakes (Jpn-III) at Tokyo Racecourse Jan. 31.

"I was aware of his strength and had every confidence in him so I`m truly happy we were able to win," Demuro said. "The trainer warned me of his bad breaks, but he actually made a good spurt and after we were positioned well, I knew the title was ours. I'm glad that he stretched well in spite of losing concentration a bit after taking the lead rather early in the straight."

Produced from the Distorted Humor mare Giggly, 4-year-old Moanin is owned by Yukio Baba.

Bred in New York by Empire Equines, Moanin was sold by Hidden Brook to Bradley Thoroughbreds for $90,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton August yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was then acquired by Narvick International for $335,000 from the Eddie Woods consignment to the 2014 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. March 2-year-olds in training sale.

The winner was the only non-Japanese-bred runner in the February Stakes, one of 15 graded races on dirt this year in Japan. 

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