Thorpedo Anna blasts off, runs away to win Grade 1 Acorn
Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Thorpedo Anna won the Grade 1, $500,000 Acorn Stakes at Saratoga with an effort that overwhelmed the field of nine. In doing so, the Kenny McPeek runner established herself as the best 3-year-old filly in the country.
“Yes, she is,” McPeek said. “That was one of our goals coming into the race was to stamp her as the best 3-year-old in America.”
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The Acorn was run at Saratoga on Friday as part of the 2024 Belmont Stakes racing festival at the increased distance of 1 1/8 miles. Thorpedo Anna started from the far outside and used her natural early speed to contend for the lead. She was pushed out wide in the first turn but was able to secure a spot in second and settle into her long and powerful stride.
“She’s just got a huge, long hip on her, and combined with her speed, she keeps going,” McPeek said. “Her conformation gets her that. The Uncle Mo broodmare sire is where I think the speed comes from. She is really special.”
Last year’s champion juvenile filly Just F Y I set the early fractions of 23.22, 46.75 and 1:10.24 while Thorpedo Anna and her regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. were content to wait two lengths behind.
“She’s an amazing filly,” Hernandez said. “Today, Just F Y I kind of surprised me by going to the lead, but then my filly, she’s just such a good filly. She settled right off of her outside, and when we got to the second turn, she was traveling so beautifully. For her to go 46 and some change like she did again, she doesn’t feel like she’s going that quick. She just is doing it effortlessly with her ears up.”
In the final turn of the Acorn, Thorpedo Anna displayed the same kind of stamina she used in her Kentucky Oaks (G1) victory last month. As the leader was fading, the daughter of Fast Anna was lengthening her stride. By the time she reached the top of the stretch, the deficit had turned into a three-length lead. Thorpedo Anna hit the finish line 5 1/2 lengths ahead of the field.
Sent off as the 3-4 favorite, Thorpedo Anna paid $3.50, $3.00 and $2.50 for win, place and show wagers. Leslie’s Rose finished second after running a few lengths behind the early leaders, and the $2 exacta returned $25.80. The late-running 25-1 Power Squeeze was third and completed a $205.50 for the $2 trifecta.