Thorpedo Anna to be bred to Gun Runner, then Curlin
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Thorpedo Anna will be bred to Gun Runner for her first mating, pairing two Horse of the Year honorees.
Thorpedo Anna, by Fast Anna, retired in October with 12 wins from 16 career starts and earnings of more than $5.4 million. Her seven Grade 1 victories included, in her championship campaign, the 2024 Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The filly is now owned in majority by John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm, with the Magdalena Farm of trainer Kenny McPeek’s family and her breeder, Judy Hicks, holding minority interests.
Sikura first revealed the mating plans for Thorpedo Anna, who now resides at Hill ‘n’ Dale in Paris, Ky., to the Thoroughbred Daily News. He said the partners have agreed to breed Thorpedo Anna to Three Chimneys resident Gun Runner in 2026, followed by Hill ‘n’ Dale’s flagship sire, Curlin, in 2027. It has not been decided yet whether the resulting foals will be kept to race or be sold, but Sikura, who is known as a commercial breeder, referenced both stallions’ commercial potential as well as timing factors.
“Let’s hope Curlin is breeding strong two, three, four, five years from now,” Sikura said. “But for now, Gun Runner will be the choice the first time around, and that’s what we are doing. Both on the racetrack and in the sales ring, he is, among the younger sires, clearly a uniquely successful North American dirt sire. That was her aptitude and that’s what we are trying to breed for the marketplace.
“This will be great on great, and we will hope for the best. We are trying to capitalize a little bit on the immediacy of Gun Runner’s success and also the legend and legacy of Curlin. Let’s hope that [Curlin’s son] Journalism has a great year and emerges as a very top class horse in 2026. If so, we can capitalize on both sires at the exact right times.”
Gun Runner and Curlin, both Hall of Famers, currently rank third and eighth, respectively, on the North American general sire list. The 12-year-old Gun Runner, who will stand for an advertised fee of $250,000, broke out as a record-setting freshman sire in 2021 and has been a leading sire since. His 12 Grade 1 winners are led by champions Sierra Leone and Echo Zulu, Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting, and recent Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Super Corredora.
Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin will stand for $225,000 in the coming season. The 21-year-old is the sire of Eclipse Award champions Cody’s Wish, Elite Power, Good Magic, Idiomatic, Malathaat, Nest, Stellar Wind, and Vino Rosso. Journalism became Curlin’s second Preakness winner this year, joining Exaggerator.
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