Thorpedo Anna.
Acorn Queen lands in spot number 7 on the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll
NYRA Press Office/NTRA Release
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Nader Alaali, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing’s Thorpedo Anna returns to the scene of her dominant Grade 1 DK Horse Acorn victory to attempt her third consecutive Grade 1-victory in Saturday’s $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks, a nine-furlong route for sophomore fillies, at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna seeks to maintain her place atop the sophomore filly rankings on the heels of a tremendous spring that saw her notch three graded stakes victories, led by open-lengths romps in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 3 at Churchill Downs and the aforementioned Acorn on June 7 here as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.
The daughter of Fast Anna helped provide McPeek with the historic feat of training both the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby winner in the same year, posting her 4 3/4-length victory one day before Mystik Dan captured the “Run for the Roses.” The bay filly, often referred to by McPeek as a “grizzly bear,” earned her place in the Oaks starting gate with a similar dominant effort in the Grade 2 Fantasy in March at Oaklawn Park.
With three strong graded victories on her resume, Thorpedo Anna entered the Acorn as the heavy favorite in a field of eight that included returning rival Leslie’s Rose. Piloted by regular rider Brian Hernandez, Jr., Thorpedo Anna attended the pace set by Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Just F Y I before taking command with ease in the turn. She powered home strongly from the rallying Leslie’s Rose and, despite losing a shoe in the first turn, won by 5 1/2 lengths geared down in a final time of 1:49.02.
Following her eye-catching victory, Thorpedo Anna has remained at Saratoga to prepare for the CCA Oaks and has worked regularly over the Spa’s Oklahoma training track, most recently covering five furlongs in 1:01.55 in company with Grade 3-placed Gould’s Gold Saturday. McPeek described the effort as a, “nice, solid work,” and added that the talented bay is right at home at Saratoga.
“She’s done great here, and she goes out the first set. She’s been happy,” said McPeek. “She does everything we ask her. She likes her work and she’s an easy filly to be around.”
The sizeable filly is an imposing athlete on the racetrack and stands out against her female rivals as a heftier individual that more resembles the colts of her crop. McPeek said those physical attributes have helped Thorpedo Anna to reach her levels of dominance.
“She eats extremely well, which is not something that all fillies do,” McPeek explained. “She’s aggressive in the feed tub at night, and that makes our job a lot easier when she’s like that.”
Hernandez, Jr. has the call again from post 3.
NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll
Week 25 of the 2024 NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through July 14. Voting is conducted by national media.
The Three-Year-Old poll represents horses competing up and through the Triple Crown.
The Top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes on Tuesday, November 5 following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Rankings on both polls are on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2024 record and total points. A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
| PLACE | HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS |
| 1 | NATIONAL TREASURE (27) | 4-C | 3-2-0-0 | 293 | 1 |
| 2 | SENOR BUSCADOR (2) | 6-H | 3-1-1-1 | 256 | 2 |
| 3 | IDIOMATIC (1) | 5-M | 2-1-1-0 | 184 | 3 |
| 4 | KINGSBARNS | 4-C | 4-3-1-0 | 158 | 4 |
| 5 | ADARE MANOR | 5-M | 3-2-1-0 | 145 | 5 |
| 6 | MASTER OF THE SEAS (1) | 6-G | 1-1-0-0 | 126 | 6 |
| 7 | THORPEDO ANNA | 3-F | 3-3-0-0 | 110 | 7 |
| 8 | RANDOMIZED | 4-F | 2-1-1-0 | 82 | 8 |
| 9 | COGBURN | 5-H | 2-2-0-0 | 70 | 9 |
| 10 | THE CHOSEN VRON | 6-G | 4-4-0-0 | 36 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: NEXT (33), Whitebeam (23), Silver Knott (18), Measured Time (15), Mystik Dan (14), First Mission (14), Dornoch (12), A Mo Reay (10), Saudi Crown (10), Absolutely Zero (9), Pyrenees (9), Ace Of Clubs (8), Book’em Danno (8), Acoustic Ave (7), Vahva (7), Post Time (7), Sierra Leone (6), White Abarrio (6), Warm Heart (6), Adhamo (5), Cinderella’s Dream (5), Carl Spackler (5), Skippylongstocking (5), Arabian Knight (5), Affable (4), Baby Yoda (4), Sweet Azteca (4), Affirmative Lady (3), Scylla (3), Seize The Grey (2), Two Rivers Over (2), Arizona Kalei (1), Anisette (1), Star Of Mystery (1), Ottoman Fleet (1)
