Video: McPeek says retirement may be next for Thorpedo Anna

In the blush of Thorpedo Anna’s empty, fourth-place finish Sunday in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes, trainer Kenny McPeek said retirement was an option for the reigning horse of the year.

“We’re going to make sure that she’s healthy and that she comes out of this race, and if it’s her last race, it’s her last race,” McPeek said in a selfie video he shot in Thorpedo Anna’s Keeneland barn stall. “If that’s the case, then we’re really proud of her, and we appreciate everybody’s support out there.”

Gin Gin upsets Spinster; Thorpedo Anna is 4th.

In the same video posted on social media a little more than an hour after Sunday’s race, McPeek said a return to Del Mar for Thorpedo Anna to defend her Breeders’ Cup Distaff victory in less than four weeks was not certain.

“We are going to contemplate next steps, and we’re not going to get in any hurry,” he said. “The notion that she’s going to go to California is probably the least of our worries right now.”

Thorpedo Anna has an automatic berth in the Distaff thanks to her win-and-you’re-in victories in the Fleur de Lis (G2) and the Personal Ensign (G1).

As his stable crew was in the background giving Thorpedo Anna a post-race once-over, McPeek said he could not use any health or fitness problem as an alibi for the 4-year-old filly’s disappointing loss as the 1-2 favorite to 18-1 long shot Gin Gin.

“For everybody out there that’s worried about her, you can rest at ease. She’s fine,” McPeek said. “We got her back here to the barn. There was a notion that maybe she came back with a little bit of a case of the thumps. For those who don’t know what that is, it’s maybe a little electrolyte imbalance. ... We’re probably going to do a little blood work. ... Physically there’s nothing major at this point. She scoped clean, which is great news.”

“She was very nice and relaxed before the race,” said Flavien Prat, who stepped in Sunday for injured jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. “I thought I was in a good spot going into the first turn. Even on the backside, I thought I was driving all right. When we got to the half-mile pole, that was it. I was in deep water.” 

Thorpedo Anna is owned primarily by John Sikura’s Hill ’n’ Dale Equine Holdings, which bought 50% of her in August with the original intent to race her through next year. McPeek said Sunday the breeding timetable might be accelerated.

“The notion right now is that if this is going to happen, if she’s going to run a poor race where she falls off form, the best time for it to happen is this time of year,” McPeek said. “Then we can work with John Sikura and the Hill ’n’ Dale team to figure out who she’s bred to.”

McPeek’s wife Sherri, Mark Edwards and breeder Judy Hicks own the other 50% of Thorpedo Anna, who failed to hit the board Sunday for only the second time in a 16-race career that has yielded $5,440,913 in earnings.

Thorpedo Anna’s past performances are top-heavy with superlatives that climaxed in her winning two Eclipse Awards for 2024. Her seven Grade 1 wins came in the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, Cotillion and Breeders’ Cup Distaff last year and the Apple Blossom and Personal Ensign this year.

It could be argued that Thorpedo Anna’s best race was her loss by a head to Eclipse Award winner Fierceness when she beat the rest of the boys in the 2024 Travers (G1) at Saratoga. That was where she earned a career-high 111 Beyer Speed Figure, according to Daily Racing Form.

“I’ve used the analogy many times in my career that horses are like surfing, and you’re trying to catch a big wave,” McPeek said. “This filly’s been the most amazing wave I’ve ever been on. She’s loved by everybody.”