Eight weeks since a rare loss, reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna is poised to return to the winner’s circle in the $500,000 Fleur de Lis Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Thorpedo Anna, who was bumped around at the start and finished last of seven in the La Troienne Stakes (G2) in her 4-year-old debut on May 2, has been training solidly since for trainer Kenny McPeek.
The sensational filly is the 3-5 favorite against four rivals in the 1 1/8-mile Fleur de Lis, a field that includes La Troienne runner-up Taxed.
The races is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, with the winner earning an all-paid entry fees to the BC Distaff (G1) at Del Mar on Nov. 1.
The Fleur de Lis has been won be champions including Rachel Alexandra, Royal Delta, Midnight Bisou, and Letruska. Thorpedo Anna, winner of the Kentucky Oaks (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) in a stellar 3-year-old season, leaves from post 3 under regular rider Brian Hernandez, Jr.
The big question is whether she’s up to the task. Everything is pointing in a positive direction with little speed in this edition of the Fleur de Lis.
“She's gone back to the track and acts like her old self,” McPeek said recently in podcast interview for Horse Races Now. “It was one of those races that just wasn't our day. You know we're big boys. We just have to get back off the mat and get back up and do it again.”
Expect Thorpedo Anna to be up front at the start – as long as she doesn’t get bumped around like she did in the La Troienne – and dare any of her rivals to keep up.
For those who bet horse racing, an exacta or trifecta is the only way to go, with Thorpedo Anna on top. Remember, the filly won her first two starts this year, taking the Azeri Stakes (G2) and the Apple Blossom Stakes (G1) at Oaklawn Park.
Royal Spa and Gin Gin, the 1-2 finishers in the Shawnee Stakes (G3) at Churchill on May 31, are the likely second and third betting choices.
The Fleur de Lis is the top undercard race leading up to the $1 million Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) featuring 2024 Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (also trained by McPeek) going against Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, who went on to win the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Post time for the Fleur de Lis is 5:32 p.m. ET
1 Royal Spa (Flavien Prat, Rodolphe Brisset), 4-1
2 Save Time (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Saffie Joseph, Jr.), 20-1
3 Thorpedo Anna (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Kenny McPeek), 3-5
4 Gin Gin (Jose Ortiz, Brendan Walsh), 7-2
5 Taxed (Rafael Bejarano, Randy Morse), 9-2
