After romping on the lead in the Kentucky Oaks (G1), Thorpedo Anna stalked in second before drawing off stylishly in the stretch of Friday’s $500,000 Acorn (G1) at Saratoga, confirming her dominance in the three-year-old filly division. The Kenny McPeek trainee looked ready for male competition scoring easily by 5 1/2 lengths with regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr.
“I think the first thought was, ‘Dang, I could have run her in the Belmont (G1),’” McPeek said. “I really felt I could have. She makes it easy.”
Thorpedo Anna’s stablemate, Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and Preakness (G1) runner-up Mystick Dan, will contest Saturday’s Belmont.
“I’m not going to run them against each other if I can help it,” McPeek added.
Thorpedo Anna, a daughter of Fast Anna, is campaigned by Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, breeder Judy Hicks, and Sherri McPeek’s Magdalena Racing, and the once-beaten filly improved to 3-for-3 this season. She returned this year with a four-length tally in the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn in late March and scored by 4 3/4 lengths over a sloppy track in the May 3 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The dark bay left the Acorn starting gate as the 3-4 favorite over seven rivals.
“She’s an amazing filly,” Hernandez said. “I believe we have a superstar on our hands. Those are put in a rare air, but she seems to be one of those fillies. When the announcer calls you brilliant in a Grade 1, you know it tends to make you believe that you are a part of something really magical. Something really special.”
Normally held over a one-turn mile at Belmont Park, the Acorn was stretched to 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga while Belmont undergoes refurbishment. Thorpedo Anna stopped the teletimer in 1:49.02 over the fast track, scoring under wraps in deep stretch. She’s developed into a formidable presence.
“Yes she is,” McPeek said when asked if Thorpedo Anna established herself as the undisputed leader in the three-year-old filly division. “That was one of our goals coming into the race was to stamp her as the best three-year-old in America. Whether we take on the colts (later) will be fun and it will be interesting. I’ll probably tease you all with what I’m thinking about. We’ll see.”
Leslie’s Rose rallied for second at 6-1, 1 1/4 lengths better than the late-running Power Squeeze in third. My Mane Squeeze and Regulatory Risk came next. Champion two-year-old filly and Kentucky Oaks runner-up Just F Y I, the 3-1 second choice, flashed speed at the break and showed the way on a short lead through splits in :23.53, :46.75, and 1:10.24 before giving way to Thorpedo Anna, who blew past the pacesetter into a clear lead leaving the far turn.
Just F Y I weakened to sixth, 22 lengths behind the winner, and Where’s My Ring and Gun Song completed the order of finish.
Hicks sold Thorpedo Anna for $40,000 as a Fasig-Tipton October yearling but remained in the partnership created by the trainer. The Kentucky-bred filly is out of Sataves, a daughter of Uncle Mo, and this is the female family of Grade/Group 1-winning half-brothers Eskendereya and Balmont.
Thorpedo Anna won her first two starts last fall, an auction maiden at Keeneland and an entry-level allowance at Churchill, by a combined 17 1/2 lengths. Her lone defeat came in the juvenile finale, a runner-up in the Golden Rod (G2) last November, and she’s now earned more than $1.7 million.
