HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – There are different ways to test greatness in racing, and Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna will encounter a new one Saturday when she starts as the 124-pound highweight in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park. The Apple Blossom will be her first start in a handicap, and her impost in the 1 1/16-mile race for fillies and mares is notable. It’s the highest winning weight in Apple Blossom history, and has only been accomplished by Letruska in 2022, Paseana (1992-93), Track Robbery (1982), Bold ’n Determined (1981), and Susan’s Girl (1975). But beyond the impost – Thorpedo Anna won last year’s Cotillion under 126 pounds – there’s the matter of the spread of four to 12 pounds in the weights. Free Like a Girl, an earner of $2.2 million, will get four pounds from Thorpedo Anna. Where’s My Ring, who owns the field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure of 103, is in at 119. But neither has the résumé of Thorpedo Anna, a five-time Grade 1 winner who as a 3-year-old last season won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Kentucky Oaks. The $4 million earner launched her 4-year-old campaign last month at Oaklawn with a win in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes. “She’s done a lot of good things, so you kind of expect her to carry weight,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “The question is, ‘Can she handle the weight?’ ” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Thorpedo Anna is picking up five pounds off the Azeri. She shipped up from Fair Grounds for the race, but has remained at Oaklawn in subsequent weeks to prep for the Apple Blossom. The seven-horse Apple Blossom serves as the centerpiece of a 12-race program that includes the Grade 3, $500,000 Count Fleet. First post is 12:20 p.m. Central. Thorpedo Anna has worked twice at Oaklawn since the Azeri. “All systems go,” McPeek said earlier this week. “She likes it there. It’s been ideal. We’ve got a stable set up there. It’s somewhat in her backyard right now. We’re taking her over there in good order again. “She’s obviously ultra-talented, but she’s also ultra-consistent, which is a rare combination.” Brian Hernandez Jr. has the mount from post 6. Tactics will be left up to the rider, McPeek said. Free Like a Girl finished second by 3 1/2 lengths in the Azeri. For a brief moment in the stretch she was head to head with Thorpedo Anna. “I got excited for a minute when we came up to her,” said Chasey Deville Pomier, who trains Free Like a Girl. “Then she just switched and had another gear and goes on, and you’re just like, ‘Oh. Alright. Never mind.’ Just so effortlessly.” Free Like a Girl will start from post 3 under Julien Leparoux. “I love her stalking a little bit,” Deville Pomier said. “That’s where I always want to see her, but I always tell [the rider], ‘See where you’re at.’ ” Deville Pomier has no issue with the Apple Blossom weight assignment. Free Like a Girl carried two pounds more than Thorpedo Anna in the Azeri. “I will never complain about being under,” she said as the trainer of an accomplished horse who often totes top weight in races. Where’s My Ring, winner of the Grade 3 Gazelle last year at Aqueduct, enters off a first-level allowance win at Oaklawn. She set the pace in the March 15 race and roared home 12 1/4 lengths on top. The win came at the same distance as the Apple Blossom. “When she turned for home and switched her leads and took off like that, I was so impressed,” trainer Val Brinkerhoff said. “It was amazing what she did. “She’s come out of it great.” Where’s My Ring flew into Oaklawn earlier in the meet, after finishing third in an allowance sprint at Santa Anita in February. Francisco Arrieta has the mount from post 5. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “It looks like there’s quite a bit of speed there,” Brinkerhoff said. “We don’t have to be on the lead. We can sit right behind the leaders, or wherever we need to be.” As for the weights, Brinkerhoff said he would have liked to get more like eight to 10 pounds from Thorpedo Anna rather than five. “That makes me feel good, they respect my horse,” he said. “Maybe it wouldn’t make any difference if they put [more weight] on [Thorpedo Anna]. She’s a really nice horse and we’re going to have to be at our best and maybe a little bit better than we were last time to beat her.” The field includes Grade 3 winner Wild Bout Hilary, stakes winner Sweet Alyssa, multiple stakes-placed Neom Beach, and sprint-to-route prospect Noble Miss. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.