With a final surge to the finish line, champion Thorpedo Anna held off a driving Dorth Vader by a nose and won the $500,000 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
Thorpedo Anna, the reigning Horse of the Year, gained a fees-paid automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Del Mar on Nov. 1, a race she won last year.
The victory came in Thorpedo Anna’s return to the races in Saratoga a year and a day after she took on the boys and was beaten a nose by Fierceness in the Travers Stakes (G1).
“For her to come back to Saratoga in front of all these fans (and win), it means everything,’’ winning jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., said.
“She showed the heart of a champion down the lane to hold Dorth Vader off and be able to get her nose down at the wire. It’s why she’s Horse of the Year.”
The 1 1/8-mile Personal Ensign, one of the most prestigious races in the country for fillies and mares, was the first of five Grade 1 stakes on Travers Day at the Spa, with the 156th Travers featuring Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Sovereignty.
Thorpedo Anna, trained by Kenny McPeek, won for the fourth time in five starts in her 4-year-old campaign, with previous wins in the Azeri Stakes (G2) and the Apple Blossom (G1), followed by an unexpected seventh in the La Troienne Stakes (G1) and another win in the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2).
On Saturday, the winner was in doubt until the final bob. Thorpedo Anna raced three wide in third place behind Randomized and Bernietakescharge. And then Hernandez thought it was time get rolling at the quarter pole, a little earlier than usual.
“We moved a little early because the horse on the inside (Randomized), we thought she’d die out pretty quickly, so I didn’t want to get hung out wide around the second turn.
“Knowing just how good of a mare she is, I let her creep up very quickly and when she threw her ears up, she got very comfortable. And I think making that move made gave her a little breather, which helped her deep down the lane and able to hold on.”
Just barely.
Dorth Vader, ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez, was closing with every stride and the two dueled in the final strides, going nose to nose before Thorpedo Anna got her nose down first at the wire.
“I’m really proud she got it done today,’’ said McPeek, “even though it was tight.”
Sent off as the 3-4 favorite in the field of seven, Thorpedo Anna ($3.50 on a $2 win bet) covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.18. Dorth Vader was 11-1. Leslie’s Rose, Raging Sea, Dazzling Move, Randomized and Bernietakescharge.
George Weaver, who trains Dorth Vader, thought his filly may have gotten the winning bob.
“I actually thought she got her nose down and won. When they threw the photo up and I watched the replay, I thought, ‘oh no, we got nosed,’ ‘’ said Weaver. “It was a great race. Unfortunately, I’m on the losing end of the photo but all in all, I think Dorth Vader validated her status in this division and we’re looking forward to going to the Breeders’ Cup.”
As for Thorpedo Anna’s future, McPeek said he’d nominated her to the Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 5 and the Delaware Handicap (G3) at Delaware Park on Sept. 28 against the boys.
And a possible run in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) rather than trying to make it two in a row in the BC Distaff? “We’re not going to worry about it now,’’ said McPeek.
Thorpedo Anna improved to 12 wins in 15 stars, including seven Grade 1s and earnings of more than $5.4 million.
