Sikura Sees Thorpedo Anna as 'Historic' Opportunity

It was nothing unusual when Thorpedo Anna triumphed in the Aug. 23 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. After all, that nose victory marked the seventh time the 2024 Horse of the Year has won a grade 1 event. What was different, however, was that the dark bay or brown filly took the Personal Ensign running under the green silks of John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings. Sikura will be an interested party when the daughter of Fast Anna goes to post in the Oct. 5 Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland. In between her June 28 Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2) victory and the Personal Ensign, Sikura, owner of the scenic Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa farm near Paris, Ky., purchased a significant stake in the 4-year-old superstar. He thus joined an ownership group that includes Kenny and Sherri McPeek's Magdalena Racing, Mark Edwards, and Judy Hicks. Hicks bred Thorpedo Anna, while Kenny McPeek has guided her career as trainer. Sikura's presence among the filly's connections is meaningful. He has a knack for being associated with quality runners and producers. At one time he owned grade 2 winner Better Than Honour, and the daughter of Deputy Minister became 2007's Broodmare of the Year after her filly Rags to Riches won the Belmont Stakes (G1). The previous season, Jazil, a son of Better Than Honour, took the Belmont. And the broodmare nearly had an opportunity to make it three in a row, but her Japan-trained son Casino Drive incurred a foot injury in the days leading up to the 2008 Belmont. Sikura also for a time owned Serena's Cat, dam of 2015 champion older dirt male Honor Code. "I have high standards for myself, so anytime you have the opportunity to get involved with something unique and historic, that is a strong consideration," Sikura said of Thorpedo Anna. "Those moments don't come along often in your career, where you get the opportunity to participate in a one-off." Thorpedo Anna is indeed a unique talent. Since breaking her maiden by 8 1/2 lengths at Keeneland two years ago, she has amassed a sterling portfolio, winning 12 times in 15 starts and banking better than $5.4 million. She also landed champion 3-year-old filly honors a year ago on the strength of victories in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, Kentucky Oaks, Cotillion Stakes, Acorn Stakes, and Coaching Club American Oaks (all G1). She has returned this season to win four of five, all in grade 1 or grade 2 company. "She is a throwback to the type of mares who ran 50 years ago," Sikura said. "We raced a mare in California named Gay Style (a grade 1 winner who won four graded stakes races in the United States and another three in France) who ran against hard, tough mares like Tizna and Susan's Girl. They were as good in their 30th starts as they were in their fourth." (Tizna raced 57 times; Susan's Girl 63.) Sikura said he made up his mind to buy into Thorpedo Anna after he visited her at McPeek's barn. "She has a kinetic energy to her, an energy level that is not normal for a horse," he said. "The way she walks; her attentiveness. She is magnetic and exudes energy. She pulled the hotwalker around there for 45 minutes. It's a gut feeling that you get that makes you want to be involved." The original owners had planned to run the filly through a breeding stock sale in November, but now that blueprint has been altered. Depending on how she performs in the Spinster, and then hopefully in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, Thorpedo Anna could conceivably return to the races as a 5-year-old. That will be addressed at some point in the coming months. Thorpedo Anna already has qualified for a fees-paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Distaff through two previous victories in the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series this season. The Spinster also is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race, offering a guaranteed spot in the Distaff. Eventually, she will become a broodmare, and Sikura is hopeful her racetrack talent will translate well to that second career, although he realizes there are no guarantees. "How does her energy and race record convert into being a broodmare? Who knows? Some really good racehorses become great sires; some become poor sires. It works the same for broodmares. It is not a linear connection. But I'd rather start with those credentials than without them," he said. Much has been made of Thorpedo Anna being by Fast Anna, who was not a commercial sire. However, Sikura noted that after having taken a much closer look at her pedigree, he was impressed—and not just because Hill 'n' Dale bred her fourth dam, Altair (by Alydar). "Natalma (the dam of Northern Dancer) and Cosmah (the dam of Halo) are in her pedigree—some of the greatest mares in the history of modern breeding," said Sikura. "Going back to the taproot source, I can defend every generation of her pedigree. Now, is there anything in there where it makes sense that you get one as good as her? No. Her consistency at an elite level, her compete, her try, everything about her is extraordinary. So many genetic variables seem to have landed perfectly on her. That's not an expectation you can have for any horse. It's almost unheard of." Sikura has great respect for what Thorpedo Anna and her owners have accomplished. "I've had nothing to do with her success, and I don't want to claim any false credit. Kenny and the partners have great karma and chemistry, and I don't want to upset any of those balances. I told Kenny I want to be invisible." Sikura has, however, taken one step toward moving the star filly more toward mainstream popularity. One of the partners he has brought along in his piece of Thorpedo Anna is former NFL star Marshawn Lynch, who is quickly becoming an accomplished actor and media celebrity. He hopes Lynch has a similar effect as influencer Griffin Johnson, who has heightened interest in horse racing via his association with the 3-year-old Sandman. "All of us have a responsibility, if given the opportunity, to get this sport into the mainstream culture," Sikura noted. "If we are going to be vibrant and expand into the future, we have to be relevant with people. And social media exposure is the reality today. Marshawn has a great following; people know him and he has a unique personality. People like him and Griffin Johnson can make a huge difference in exposure."