is an active Japanese racehorse.
Racing career
2022 and 2023: two and three-year-old seasons Costa Nova made his racing debut on December 25, 2022, in a two-year-old maiden race at Nakayama Racecourse, but finished a disappointing 11th. At age three, he switched to dirt racing and quickly found success, winning his first race of the season. Over the course of 2023, he competed in four races and won three of them, and finished second in his only loss.
2024: four-year-old season Costa Nova began the year strongly, winning the Hakurei Stakes on February 4 and earning promotion to the open class. Racing strategically throughout the season, he captured his first open-class victory three months later in the . His first major stakes appearance came in August at the , his debut over the 1200-meter distance, where he entered as the second favorite but finished sixth. He was scheduled to contest the Musashino Stakes in November but was forced to withdraw due to persistent swelling beneath his left eye.
2025: five-year-old season Costa Nova started his five-year-old campaign in the Negishi Stakes on February 2. Launching a powerful move down the stretch, he surged clear to win by four lengths over , securing his first major race victory. Just three weeks later, on February 23, he stepped up to compete in his first Grade I race, the February Stakes. With jockey Rachel King taking over the reins (replacing Takeshi Yokoyama, who had ridden him in the Negishi Stakes but had chosen to ride ), he seized the lead early and held off a fierce late challenge from to claim victory. Rachel King became the first female jockey in Japan Racing Association history to win a flat GI race.
2026: six-year-old season The first goal of the year for Costa Nova this time is to defend his title in the February Stakes. On the race day, Costa Nova loomed at the back in the early to mid race. On the final uphill stretch, he moved to outside and joined a four-horse rally to the line with Brian Sense, W Heart Bond and Wilson Tesoro. He got better acceleration than his contention and took the lead on final 100 m to win the race. Christophe Lemaire who jockeying him since the last autumn said that Costa Nova win attributed to his ability to positioned himself calmly behind Wilson Tesoro and shifted to the outside for the stretch drive to the wire. This win earned him a "Win and You're In" spot on the Breeders' Cup Classic for this year. In May he ran at the Kashiwa Kinen with Damian Lane as his jockey where he botched the start but ran well enough to finish in fourth-place. Lane spoke after the race, "He was in good condition before the race, and he was fine both during the warm-up and behind the gate. There were no problems with him standing, but he didn't get the timing right at the start. He ran his hardest, but the energy he used in the first half affected him at the end. If he had gotten a better start, I think he could have had an even better race." After the race, he was diagnosed with periosteal exposure on his front of left foreleg fetlock and fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone, which would subsided him from the track for three months.
Namesake The horse is named after the .
Racing statistics Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, and netkeiba. DateTrackRaceGradeDistance (Condition)EntryHNOdds (Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner (Runner-up)2022 – two-year-old seasonDec 25Nakayama2YO Maiden Race/1,600m (Firm)16411.9 (4th)11th1:38.22.2Tom MarquandPerifania2023 – three-year-old seasonMar 11Nakayama3YO Maiden Race/1,800m (Fast)16619.1 (4th)1:53.7 -0.8Makoto Sugihara(Gran Sabana)Jun 4Tokyo3YO+ Allowance1 win1,600m (Good)16124.7 (3rd)1:35.1 -0.1Christophe Lemaire(Blazest)Sep 3NiigataRyotsuwan Tokubetsu2 win1,800m (Fast)1562.0 (1st)1:52.50.1Christophe LemaireTaisei EpisodeNov 26TokyoApplause Sho2 Win1,600m (Fast)16102.2 (1st)1:36.3 -0.2Christophe Lemaire(Daishin Pisces)2024 – four-year-old seasonFeb 4TokyoHakurei Stakes3 Win1,600m (Fast)1651.5 (1st)1:36.5 -0.4Christophe Lemaire(Exult)May 25TokyoKeyaki StakesOP1,400m (Fast)1673.5 (2nd)1:21.9 -0.2Christophe Lemaire(Emperor Wakea)Aug 14MoriokaCluster CupL (JpnIII)1,200m (Sloppy)13122.2 (2nd)6th1:10.90.9Christophe LemaireDon Frankie2025 – five-year-old seasonFeb 2TokyoNegishi StakesGIII1,400m (Good)1694.6 (2nd)1:22.6 -0.7Takeshi Yokoyama(Lord Fons)Feb 23TokyoFebruary StakesGI1,600m (Fast)1694.3 (2nd)1:35.5 -0.2Rachel King(Sunrise Zipangu)May 5FunabashiKashiwa KinenL (JpnI)1,600m (Fast)1071.5 (1st)1:39.30.1Damian LaneShamalJun 25UrawaSakitama HaiL (JpnI)1,400m (Muddy)1233.1 (2nd)11th1:25.82.6Christophe LemaireShamalNov 15TokyoMusashino StakesGIII1,600m (Fast)1642.8 (1st)1:35.80,6Christophe LemaireLuxor Cafe2026 – six-year-old seasonFeb 22TokyoFebruary StakesGI1,600m (Fast)16123.4 (2nd)1:35.4 -0.1Christophe Lemaire(Wilson Tesoro)May 5FunabashiKashiwa KinenL (JpnI)1,600m (Fast)1324.8 (2nd)1:39.5 0.9Damian LaneWilson Tesoro
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