HOT SPRINGS — Fifty years after losing Ruffian, racing gets a second act from Thorpedo Anna.
Such did not come for the ill-fated super filly of 1975, forever lost after taking a bad step in a Belmont Park match race against Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, her only defeat.
In horse racing, the star search is always on. Thus, the only misgivings about Thorpedo Anna may come from trainers tasked to oppose the Horse of the Year, who resides in Ken McPeek’s barn.
Yesterday’s grizzly has changed appearances, says the Arkansas-born trainer of Thorpedo Anna, whose 4-year-old debut is Saturday at Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort.
Such comes from turning a year older and becoming horse racing’s cover girl for a new season.
“She’s the Energizer Bunny,” McPeek said, many good things happening since he brought a her from Hot Springs to Louisville, Ky., for the Kentucky Oaks. “She loves what she does every day, so it makes our job easy.”
Thorpedo Anna is the attention-getter in Saturday’s Grade II $400,000 Azeri Stakes, a race honoring the 2002 Horse of the Year and the only three-time winner of Oaklawn’s Apple Blossom Handicap. Going 1 1/16 miles, she races at Oaklawn for the first time since winning the Grade III Fantasy last March 30. Five Grade I victories, culminating in the Breeders’ Cup, against a narrow Travers loss to male juvenile champion Fierceness, simplified Eclipse Award selections in the 3-year-old filly division.
Working in Florida (Gulfstream Park) and Louisiana (Fair Grounds), Thorpedo Anna had no control over the weather, as storms in the region delaying her shipping until Thursday. Nor did she have any input into the draw, getting the rail post in a seven-horse field of older females.
“She’s won from inside and outside before,” McPeek told Bloodhorse.com. “I joked the other day that she could have drawn the Central Avenue parking lot and she’ll win.”
Morning workouts indicate that, usual caveats aside, Thorpedo Anna will be primed for her first start since the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November and is the 2-5 morning-line favorite for the Azeri.
For Thorpedo Anna, it’s a stepping stone to a 4-year-old season that makes the racing industry rejoice. Oaklawn’s Grade I $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap next month is one clear option if things go right in the Azeri.
At least one rival trainer sees the Azeri as an end in itself. Free Like a Girl, the all-time leading money winner among horses bred in Louisiana, seeks a defining victory before becoming a broodmare. Bettors might get juicy odds on this 21-of-48 performer for $2,173,438, beaten a head in the Grade III Bayakoa Stakes on Feb. 1 at Oaklawn.
“I go race to race. We’re trying to just get that graded-stakes win that she really deserves, if we can,” trainer Chasey Deville Pomier told Mary Rampellini of Daily Racing Form. The daughter of trainer Carl Deville is shipping the 6-year-old El Deal mare from Delta Downs in Vinton, La.
“If we run well here, we may go back to the Apple Blossom and try to go out with a bang,” she said. “We’re trying to get that last achievement, if we can. We only have a couple on the schedule that we’re trying to make, but anything can change at any time with her.”
Julien Leparoux rides Free Like a Girl (121) from post six, spotting Thorpedo Anna 2 pounds under the race’s allowance conditions. She is 15-1 in the morning line. Owners include Hot Springs native Jerry Caroom.
Bayakoa upset winner Wild Bout Hilary is 15-1 from post four for trainer Tanner Tracy and jockey C.J. McMahon. She breaks from post four but pays the weight penalty (124).
Breaking inside Wild Bout Hilary, both at comparatively short prices, are Alpine Princess (6-1, Cristian Torres) and Jody’s Pride (8-1, Ricardo Santana Jr.). Brad Cox seeks the first graded win for Alpine Princess, by 2017 Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire. Jorge Abreu Jr. has the same intention for Jody’s Pride, a New York stakes winner and Breeders’ Cup runner-up at Santa Anita in 2023, her 2-year-old season.
Steve Asmussen counters with Recharge (12-1) with son Keith in the saddle, and 2024 Oaklawn winner Bow Draw (30-1) represents Henry West with Rocco Bowen aboard.
The Azeri, race 10 on Saturday’s card, is set for 5:23 p.m. Racing starts at 12:30 p.m. and, weather permitting, the infield will be open.
