With seemingly nowhere to go turning for home, Thorpedo Anna dove between horses to snatch the lead at the top of the stretch and narrowly held off 44-1 shot Gun Song to win the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Parx Racing.
Sent off as the 1-9 favorite in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies, Thorpedo Anna tracked early pacesetter Mystic Lake through an opening half mile in 48.01 seconds, then was eased back to await running room. Entering the turn, Tarifa moved into third, appearing to trap Thorpedo Anna behind Mystic Lake and Gun Song, but jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr. pointed the daughter of Fast Anna towards a slim opening and she grabbed the lead from Gun Song with 220 yards to go, and had enough left to turn back the resurgent longshot to win by a neck.
“We were having a tough trip the whole way around there, because looking at it on paper, it looked like [Mystic Lake] was going to be fast enough to clear us, and then we were going to be able to hop out and just get a nice cruising trip,” said Hernandez. “But Johnny [Velazquez, aboard Gun Song] had other plans. He got his filly to leave there good and he put us in a box, and we were just stuck there behind him for a long, long time.”
Thorpedo Anna’s winning time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:45.45, for which she earned a career-high 113 Equibase speed figure. She returned $2.20 for a $2 win bet.
“They basically shut her off down the backside,” said winning trainer Kenny McPeek, who said the filly’s next start would be the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) on Nov. 2 at Del Mar. “They could have held her in there for longer and we’re a beat horse. [But] she was quick enough to be able to make the move.”
It was the fifth victory in six starts in 2024 for Thorpedo Anna, who prior to the Cotillion finished second by a head to 2023 juvenile champion Fierceness in her bid to become the first filly to win the Travers (G1) since 1915. She began her sophomore campaign by winning the Fantasy (G2) at Oaklawn Park, then took three straight Grade 1s; the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks leading into the Travers.
Overall, she is 7-2-0 from nine career starts, with her only other loss aside from the Travers a second in the Golden Rod (G2), her final start of 2023. Her bankroll now stands at $2,817,163 for owners Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, Judy Hicks and Magdelena Racing.
Finishing 3 ½ lengths behind Gun Son in third was Tarifa, who was followed in turn by Mystic Lake, Everland (who remains the only filly to have beaten Thorpedo Anna, in the 2023 Golden Rod), Scalable, Power Squeeze, and Sidamara.
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