Not even a slow start in the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) could slow the momentum of reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna.
In notching her fourth consecutive victory since a runner-up finish against males in the Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course last summer, the brilliant 4-year-old filly recovered from her tardy beginning to score a popular, 4 1/4-length victory April 12 at Oaklawn Park.
Tracking splits of :23.47 and :46.74 set by Wild Bout Hilary in the 1 1/16-mile race, Thorpedo Anna effortlessly took over with six furlongs in 1:11.22, and sped away from five outclassed foes in the stretch. She was clocked in 1:44.27 on a fast track under regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr.
"She went around the (second) turn with her ears up—she was just gonna kind of cruise from there," Hernandez said.
Louisiana-bred multimillionaire Free Like a Girl ran second, just as she had when facing Thorpedo Anna a start earlier in the March 8 Azeri Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn. Where's My Ring was 1 1/2 lengths farther back in third. Neom Beach, Wild Bout Hilary, and Sweet Alyssa completed the order of finish.
Thorpedo Anna, who spotted her foes between 4-7 pounds apiece as the high weight in the Apple Blossom, paid $2.40 for a $2 win bet.
Winning trainer Kenny McPeek acknowledged some nerves about starting such a heavy favorite "because there's such expectations. But you'd rather be the favorite than (a) long shot, I suppose, to get it done.
"But, you know, I wished every horse trainer in America and even jockey could have a horse like her, to be around a horse like her. I mean, I've worked all my career to try to find those kind of horses, and she really does make our job easy. She's not complicated. She loves to eat. She loves to train. She's a real pleasure to be around. I mean, she's just great."
The winner is a 4-year-old daughter of Fast Anna out of the Uncle Mo mare Sataves. McPeek trains her for owners Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Magdalena Racing, and her breeder, Judy Hicks.
McPeek paid $40,000 for Thorpedo Anna from the Grovendale Sales consignment to the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.
All three of the foals of racing age produced by Sataves are winners. Sataves also has a yearling filly by Known Agenda named After the Storm.
Racing fans may not need to wait long to see Thorpedo Anna in racing action again. McPeek has his stable star pointed toward the $1 million La Troienne Stakes (G1) May 2, Kentucky Oaks day at Churchill Downs.
"I've always believed in racing my horses. All my career, I've never been fearful of doing that," he said. "I think three weeks (rest) she'll handle fine. As long as everything's good with her physically and she comes out of it like we expect, I think you'll see her at Churchill Downs."
Just as Oaklawn fans welcomed Thorpedo Anna, those at Churchill Downs will likely do the same. In one of her most significant victories from her championship season as a 3-year-old filly in 2024, she won the Kentucky Oaks (G1) there by 4 3/4 lengths before a crowd of more than 107,000.
Her earnings now stand at $4,814,913.
