Thorpedo Anna ‘s early 2025 racing schedule could include two races at Oaklawn Park, trainer Kenny McPeek said Jan. 15.

McPeek said Thorpedo Anna, the leading candidate for 2024 Horse of the Year, is under consideration for the $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) March 8 and the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) April 12. Both races are 1 1/16 miles.

The Azeri is Oaklawn’s final major prep for the Apple Blossom, one of the country’s biggest two-turn events for older fillies and mares. McPeek said Thorpedo Anna is also a candidate to challenge males again in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) April 5 in the United Arab Emirates.

Thorpedo Anna resumed training earlier this month in Florida in advance of her 4-year-old debut.

“We’re not going to rule out her making the Azeri,” McPeek said. “She’s such a natural athlete and she’s bouncing out of her skin already. It’s not going to take long to get her ready. And if I thought she was ready, I would probably prep her somewhere in the South, between Gulfstream and Fair Grounds, and bring her in for the Azeri. And that would give her a race under her belt before what would be either the World Cup or the Apple Blossom, although I would tell you we’d probably lean strongly to the Apple Blossom.”

Thorpedo Anna hasn’t started since a front-running 2 1/2-length victory in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar Nov. 2. The 1 1/8-mile Distaff marked Thorpedo Anna’s first race against older horses and her sixth victory in seven starts (all graded stakes) last year.

Thorpedo Anna returned to the track Jan. 6 at Gulfstream Park, where she was reunited with retired two-time Oaklawn riding champion Robby Albarado, who regularly galloped her last year in Hot Springs, Ark. McPeek, Oaklawn’s leading trainer so far this season, said Thorpedo Anna is approaching her first breeze of 2025.

“You could have walked her off the farm and worked her half a mile and she would have said, ‘Sure, no problem,'” McPeek said. “She’s just a natural athlete. We’re going to give her a couple, three weeks of nice gallops. Robby Albarado gets on her every day. We’ll let her run the lane this weekend a little bit at Gulfstream. We’re just, right now, taking it a step at a time.”

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Fast Anna, Thorpedo Anna has an 8-2-0 record from 10 lifetime starts and earnings of $3,843,663. Thorpedo Anna races for a partnership that includes her breeder, Judy Hicks, and McPeek’s wife, Sherri (Magdalena Racing), along with Brookdale Racing and Mark Edwards.

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.