Thorpedo Anna Dominate in Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff

DEL MAR, CA – Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, breeder Judy Hicks and Magdalena Racing’s brilliant Thorpedo Anna capped a banner 2024 by leading all way to post a 2 ½-length victory over Raging Sea to win the 41st running of the $2 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) for fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Del Mar. 

Trained by Kenny McPeek and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Thorpedo Anna completed the 1 1/8 miles on the fast main track in 1:49.10. It is the first Breeders’ Cup victory for McPeek and second for Hernandez, who won the 2012 Classic on Fort Larned. 

Hernandez put Thorpedo Anna right on the lead and with Raging Sea tracking a close second to her outside through fractions of :23.81, :47.99 and 1:12.01. On the far turn, Raging Sea inched closer only to see Thorpedo Anna kick away again to claim her sixth victory in seven starts this year. Raging Sea held second by 3 ¼ lengths over Candied. 

The victory was worth $1,040,000 and increased her earnings to $3,843,663. It was her fifth Grade 1 victory of the year with her only defeat coming against males when she fell a head short of catching Fierceness in the Travers (G1). 

Thorpedo Anna is a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Fast Anna out of the Uncle Mo mare Sataves. 

Race Quotes

Winning trainer Kenny McPeek, Thorpedo Anna – “She keeps it rolling, doesn’t she? It was workmanlike. She just went out there and did her thing. There wasn’t a whole lot that was complicated about it. I didn’t have too many doubts. Just didn’t want anything silly to happen. Just let her do her thing and Brian did great. She just does everything so easily. We have every intention to run her next year. She is a filly that likes to do it and, hopefully, we’ll entertain a lot of people with her in 2025. Anytime you run a horse like her, it’s emotional.” 

(On his first ever Breeders’ Cup win): “This is a humbling business; it’s not something that you can ever expect. I was actually proud of a lot of seconds and thirds I have had in the Breeders’ Cup because we have done it in many ways with modest money. We are pretty much outspent by a lot of players, but we run well. That’s all you can do.” 

From Sunday:

“I was surprised they conceded her the early lead like they did,” McPeek said Sunday morning before he flew home to Kentucky. “I thought somebody would go up and challenge her. It was a relief to see her cruising like that. Then it was just a matter of if she was good enough and of course she was.” 

“I would be very surprised if she didn’t win it (Horse of the Year),” McPeek said. “She ran nose-to-nose with Fierceness and she beat Sierra Leone. We’ll see. It’s up to the voters.” 

“I am just really proud of her,” McPeek said. “There were certainly high expectations, and she came through. It has been a fantastic year, and we are just looking forward to getting home.” 

Winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., Thorpedo Anna – “It was just typical. She left there sharp, she was the best filly in the race, and I just rode her accordingly like I thought she was going to be the best filly. She went out there and proved it for us. She crossed the wire with her ears up, just proud of herself like always. 

“It’s been an amazing year. To win the races we’ve won with her and to top it off with the Kentucky Derby as well has been a year we always dream about and every jockey hopes to be in those shoes. To be able to fulfill it has been very meaningful. 

“[The key was] just making sure the first two jumps were in good order and she left there running and got herself in good position. She cruised, and once she gets in her rhythm and cruises along nicely, she just makes my job easy and I just kind of stay out of her way.  

“That was kind of the coolest part of it when we were able to just kind of jog her back in front of the crowd and all the fans and stuff were cheering for her. It was a really special moment.” 

Trainer Chad Brown, second with Raging Sea – “The way the race unfolded, she was second-best. I’m proud of her, as she wasn’t beaten that far. It would have been nice if we didn’t have all those scratches, just to see what would have happened if the winner had a little pressure on her today. (Thorpedo Anna) had a long campaign and been very consistent. A super filly from the start and much-deserved champion. 
 
“I didn’t expect to be that close. I thought a couple of the other horses who had a little bit of speed, including the Japanese horse, maybe the longshot from the outside or Candied with the blinkers — but sure enough, as the race was unfolding, I didn’t mind being there on the backside. If (Flavien Prat) takes back from there, then he’s possibly cost himself a placing. We’ll move on. She races next season.” 

Jockey Flavien Prat, second with Raging Sea – “I thought I was in a good spot. She’s a very good mare and she ran her race. Honestly, when we hit the last turn I was going as good as (Thorpedo Anna), but she kicked away a bit more than (Raging Sea) did. On Raging Sea running best when coming from behind: “Her best race was when the pace was out and she made a run, but obviously that was not the case today.” 

Trainer Todd Pletcher, third with Candied — “I thought she ran very well, as expected. There wasn’t a whole lot of pace. Tried to get the best position we could. I thought she ran hard to the wire. Third in another Breeders’ Cup. I’m proud of her for doing that two years in a row.”  

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., third with Candied – “She ran big. The pace wasn’t that strong and obviously the winner is really good. The slow pace didn’t help me but she fought hard, never gave up and look forward to her running next year.”