Heavily favored Thorpedo Anna put an emphatic exclamation point on her remarkable season on Saturday at Del Mar, brushing off her six rivals and pulling clear to a 2 ½- length triumph in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) and cementing her claim to Horse of the Year honors.
Thorpedo Anna Shines in the Distaff, Delivering a Dominant Performance
Sent right to the lead by her regular rider, Brian Hernandez, Jr., the 3-year-old daughter of Fast Anna rolled through steady fractions of 23.81, 47.99 and 1:12.01, seemingly paying no mind to Raging Sea, who was pasted to her flank from the start.
Turning for home, however, Hernandez simply shook the reins and showed Thorpedo Anna the whip, and the imposing filly easily pulled clear, hitting the wire in 1:49/20 for the 1 1/8 miles.
“I’m so happy Brian took the initiative and got it done,” said trainer Kenny McPeek, who notched his first Breeders’ Cup victory.
The Distaff marked Thorpedo Anna’s sixth win in seven starts this year, and fifth in a Grade 1.
Hernandez Reflects on Thorpedo Anna’s Unstoppable Year
She began the year winning the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn, and added the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks and Cotillion, with her only loss coming when facing the boys in the Travers (G1), in which she finished second by a head to the 3-year-old colt Fierceness, considered her main rival for Horse of the Year honors until he finished second in the Classic to Sierra Leone later in Classic.
“She’s made it a magical year for all of us,” said Hernandez, who has been aboard Thorpedo Anna since her maiden victory just over a year ago. “It was great to come out and see all the fans who were rooting for her.”
Sent off as the 2-5 favorite, Thorpedo Anna returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet, matching the second-lowest payout in the 41-year-long history of the Breeders’ Cup. The winner’s purse of $1.04 million extended her lifetime earnings to $3,843,663, just $226,387 shy of her Kentucky Derby-winning stablemate, Mystik Dan.
Multiple graded stakes winner Raging Sea, who was the second choice at 4-1, crossed the wire 3 ¾ lengths ahead of Candied. Checking in fourth was Alice Verite, followed by Sugar Fish, Che Evasora, and Honor D Lady.
Awesome Result, Batacuda and Miss New York were scratched.
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