Thorpedo Anna gains Kentucky Oaks berth with Fantasy Stakes victory

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Thorpedo Anna secured a spot in the Kentucky Oaks in the nick of time when she shuttled to a four-length win over West Omaha in the Grade 2, $750,000 Fantasy on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.

It was another 3 1/4 lengths back in third to Tapit Jenallie.

The race was the first since November for Thorpedo Anna, who broke from post 10 in the field of 10, pushed the pace, and roared home to pick up 100 points for the Kentucky Oaks. She also gave her trainer, Kenny McPeek, and her rider, Brian Hernandez Jr., their fourth wins on the card.

West Omaha picked up 50 points for second, while Tapit Jenallie earned 25, fourth-place finisher All Things Go, 15, and fifth-place finisher Recharge, 10.

McPeek said earlier this week Thorpedo Anna ranked as one of the barn’s top hopes for the Kentucky Oaks off a 2-year-old season in which she won the first two starts of her career by 17 1/2 lengths and was second in the Grade 2 Golden Rod in her stakes debut Nov. 25 at Churchill Downs. But she did not end up making her 3-year-old debut until Saturday after bruising her hip in December.

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McPeek had her ready for a top performance in the Fantasy. Thorpedo Anna tracked Recharge in third as Recharge set fractions of 23.45 seconds for the opening quarter and 47.90 for the half-mile. Thorpedo Anna moved to the fore through six furlongs in 1:13.14 and began to increase her advantage from there. She covered the 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:44.24.

The Beyer Speed Figure of 91 that Thorpedo Anna earned was a career high.

“When we got into the paddock, Kenny told me, ‘You know what you have underneath you. She’s the fastest filly in the race, so just ride her with confidence,’ ” Hernandez told Oaklawn publicity. “The biggest thing I was worried about was just being in the [10] hole, her not breaking or breaking out. When she broke cleanly, I was like, ‘Okay, now we’re in a good spot.’ She settled right off those horses down the backside and we were locked and loaded the whole way.”

The win came after Hernandez and McPeek captured the opener with Escapologist ($8), the third with Gould’s Gold ($25.20) and the fifth with Under the Palms ($38.20). Last season, McPeek had a four-win day at Oaklawn on a card dedicated to 2-year-olds. He has a division at Oaklawn and prepped Thorpedo Anna at Fair Grounds, which ended last Sunday.

Thorpedo Anna ($7.40) has now won 3 of 4 starts for earnings of $584,363. She is a daughter of Fast Anna and she races for the partnership of Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing.

Edwards named the filly for a family member, Anna, who is a swimmer. The reference to Thorpedo is a nod to Ian Thorpe, the Olympic swimming standout from Australia.

McPeek previously won the Fantasy with eventual champion Swiss Skydiver in 2020.

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