Thorpedo Anna leads 8 potential starters for Azeri at Oaklawn

Eight horses led by 2024 horse of the year Thorpedo Anna were listed by the Oaklawn racing department late Saturday morning as being under consideration for the Grade 2, $400,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) for older fillies and mares next Saturday.

Entries will be accepted and post positions drawn Sunday for the Azeri, Oaklawn’s final major prep for the $1.25 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) on April 12. Each race is 1 1/16 miles.

Saturday tab: Thorpedo Anna is 1 of 52 graded winners.

Alpine Princess for trainer Brad Cox, Free Like a Girl for Chasey Deville Pomier, Jody’s Pride for Jorge Abreu, Recharge for Steve Asmussen and Thorpedo Anna for Kenny McPeek were said by the racing office to be probable. Hoosier Philly for Tom Amoss, Nuit Magique for D. Wayne Lukas and Wild Bout Hilary for Tanner Tracy are possibles.

Thorpedo Anna was a unanimous choice as the U.S. and Canada champion 3-year-old filly and a runaway winner for horse of the year after compiling a 7: 6-1-0 record while earning $3,653,050. All six victories were stakes, including Oaklawn’s $750,000 Fantasy (G2) in her 3-year-old debut last March.

After the Fantasy, Thorpedo Anna raced exclusively in Grade 1 events the rest of 2024 and secured year-end honors with victories in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs, the Acorn at Saratoga, the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, the Cotillion at Parx and the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar in her last start. The 1 1/8-mile Distaff marked Thorpedo Anna’s first race against older horses.

Thorpedo Anna returned to the track in early January at Gulfstream Park and completed major preparations at Fair Grounds for the Azeri. She had four published workouts since Feb. 8, including a five-furlong drill in 1:00.8 on Saturday morning.

Thorpedo Anna became the sixth Oaklawn-raced female to be named horse of the year since the Eclipse Awards debuted in 1971. Overall, Thorpedo Anna, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Fast Anna, has a 10: 8-2-0 record and earnings of $3,843,663. Thorpedo Anna races for a partnership that includes her breeder Judy Hicks and McPeek’s wife Sherri, who does business as Magdalena Racing.

Recharge and Alpine Princess finished first and second, respectively, in the Houston Ladies Classic (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 25 at Sam Houston. Free Like a Girl, the leading accredited Louisiana-bred money winner in history with $2,173,438, narrowly missed her first career graded-stakes victory when she finished second, beaten by a head by Wild Bout Hilary in the Bayakoa (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 8 at Oaklawn. Jody’s Pride is a multiple stakes winner in New York.