Thorpedo Anna, with Apple Blossom win behind her, targets La Troienne

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna appears to be sitting on another exceptional season after taking down the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap on Saturday at Oaklawn Park in just her second start at 4.

“She came out of it great,” trainer Kenny McPeek said Sunday. “I’m working on getting her to Kentucky. She’ll probably leave tomorrow.”

Thorpedo Anna went 6 for 7 last year at 3 to earn Horse of the Year honors. Her campaign included five Grade 1 wins – including the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

Now an older runner, her connections will be charting a new course for some of her races. McPeek said the sole focus right now is the Grade 1, $1 million La Troienne at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/16-mile race is for fillies and mares, 4-year-olds and up, and it will be run May 2.

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“She needed to win yesterday in style to go to the La Troienne,” McPeek said when asked about a potential 2025 campaign. “She did that.

“Beyond that, there’s races like the Ogden Phipps in New York. We could wait for the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. If she were to run well in the Stephen Foster, we could [go to the] Whitney and Jockey Club Gold Cup. I don’t know. But right now, we’re focused on the La Troienne.”

McPeek believes Thorpedo Anna, who opened her season with a win in the Grade 2 Azeri at Oaklawn, is a better filly this year than she was at 3.

“She’s definitely bigger and stronger than she was last year,” he said. “Her whole hindquarters filled out, bigger in the shoulder. She’s definitely carrying more weight than she carried as a 3-year-old.

“She’s gone from a girl to a woman.”

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