Just twice in her career had Thorpedo Anna seen another horse finish in front of her. Friday afternoon at Churchill Downs, she saw six of them.
The reigning Horse of the Year finished a leg-weary seventh and last in the $1 million La Troienne (G1), her worst performance in 13 starts, as 4-1 second choice Raging Sea strode past the weakening superstar in the stretch and on to a three-quarter-length victory over fast-closing longshot Taxed.
“Obviously, she [Thorpedo Anna] was my target, [and] I was able to follow her around,” said winning jockey Flavian Prat, who kept Raging Sea in fifth as Randomized, with Thorpedo Anna on her flank and Dorth Vader to her inside, led through fractions of 23.50, 47.22 and 1:11.38.
Straightening for home, Prat stayed off the rail, pointing Raging Sea between horses approaching the sixteenth pole, and the 5-year-old daughter of Curlin was able to come through to squeak past Randomized with enough left to turn back Taxed.
Raging Sea wins the G1 La Troienne off the layoff, defeating Thorpedo Anna! 🌊
Chad Brown trains with Flavien Prat in the saddle! 🏇
🎥TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/vuJ9M81UFT
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) May 2, 2025
Her winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:42.91 in her first start of the year, having come off a six-month layoff followed her tough second to Thorpedo Anna in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) in November.
“I was really looking forward to a little bit of a rematch [from the Distaff] and I was happy she was able to get up there,” said trainer Chad Brown. “Today, she got the pace she deserved. She’s really etched her own solid career.”
The victory was worth $608,840 to her breeder and owner, Alpha Delta Stables, and lifted Raging Sea’s bankroll to $2,147,318 and her record to 8-2-1 from 14 career starts. She returned $10.08 for a $2 win bet.
Following Taxed under the wire were Raging Sea’s stablemate Randomize, Dorth Vader, Free Like a Girl, Literate, and Thorpedo Anna, who was bumped around going into the first turn and finished 8 ½ lengths behind the winner.
“It looks like they beat her up going into the first turn,” said Thorpedo Anna’s trainer, Kenny McPeek. “I don’t know what that was about. I’m shocked like the rest of us.”
Regular rider Brian Hernandez, Jr., said he didn’t think the bumping bothered his filly.
Thorpedo Anna cooling out in the test barn. Nothing obvious at this time. We will need to clean her up and go over her tomorrow morning to get some clarity. The bumper cars in the first turn concern me and hopefully she didn’t get injured long term. Obviously we are…
— Kenny McPeek (@KennyMcPeek) May 2, 2025
“She got bumped around a little bit at the beginning but after that she was traveling well,” said Hernandez. “Coming around the second turn, she was a little flat, and down the lane she was leg-weary, which isn’t like her. It just wasn’t her day today.”
Thorpedo Anna’s most recent loss was in last year’s Travers (G1) at Saratoga, when she was beaten a head by Fierceness, who won the Alysheba (G2) earlier on the card), and also as a 2-year-old, when she was second in the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs at the La Troienne distance.
