Thorpedo Anna draws the rail for Azeri comeback

Thorpedo Anna, the reigning Horse of the Year, will launch her 4-year-old season from the rail Saturday as part of a field of seven fillies and mares for the Grade 2, $400,000 Azeri at Oaklawn Park.

Post positions for the 1 1/16-mile race were drawn Sunday. The race will go as the 10th on an 11-race program that begins at 12:30 p.m. Central. The approximate post time for the Azeri is 5:25 p.m.

Thorpedo Anna won five Grade 1 races last year at 3, closing out her season with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in November. She was announced as the 2024 Horse of the Year during the annual Eclipse Award ceremony in January.

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For her return, Thorpedo Anna has been working at Fair Grounds. Her latest move came Saturday, when she breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80. Her regular rider, Brian Hernandez Jr., has the mount in the Azeri for trainer Kenny McPeek.

The complete Azeri field from the rail with riders is: Thorpedo Anna (Hernandez) Alpine Princess (Cristian Torres); Jody’s Pride (Ricardo Santana Jr.); Wild Bout Hilary (C.J. McMahon); Recharge (Keith Asmussen); Free Like a Girl (Julien Leparoux); Bow Draw (Rocco Bowen).

Bow Draw was supplemented to the Azeri.

The Azeri is part of Oaklawn’s route series for older fillies and mares that is topped by the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap on April 12.

The forecast for Saturday is a high of 61 degrees, with a 30 percent chance of a thunderstorm, according to AccuWeather. The infield is scheduled to be open, weather permitting.

Thorpedo Anna, who won her 3-year-old debut last year in the Grade 2 Fantasy at Oaklawn, is owned by the partnership of Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing.

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