Thorpedo Anna

Everyone has their superstitions before a big race. For Mark Edwards, it's the shirt he was wearing when Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) broke her maiden by over eight lengths and became a 'TDN Rising Star' at Keeneland last October. He's worn the same shirt for every one of her races since then other than her only career loss last year in the GII Golden Rod, so you can bet that Edwards will be sporting his shirt this weekend when Thorpedo Anna takes on the boys in the GI Travers Stakes....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--In an intriguing GI Travers Stakes loaded with talent and questions, will anyone be surprised if 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) wins? Nope. Although it is unlikely that the colt trained by Chad Brown will be the betting favorite Saturday in the 155th running of the signature race at Saratoga Race Course--he is a narrow fourth at 7-2 on the morning line--Sierra Leone's record demands respect. He has never been worse than third in seven career starts. One of those victories came in the GI Blue...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Trainer Kenny McPeek sat in his office at his barn at the Annex across from the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning and began rattling off the names. Ruffian. Genuine Risk. Winning Colors. Rags to Riches. Zenyatta. Rachel Alexandra. Beholder. They are some of the best fillies to ever do it on the racetrack. McPeek is hopeful that, after next Saturday, the name Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) might join that illustrious group. Thorpedo Anna, of course, is attempting to become the first filly since 1915 to win the $1.25...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. - Saturday is going to be a big day for horses being pointed to the $1.24-million GI Travers Stakes. Two key horses for the race--Dornoch (Good Magic) and Fierceness (City of Light)--had their final works switched from Friday to Saturday. They will join Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), Honor Marie (Honor Code) and Batten Down (Tapit), who are all scheduled to have their final Midsummer Derby moves on Saturday. Saratoga did have some heavy rain on Thursday, but the track appeared ok on...

The absence of the 'Grizzly Bear' has not put a damper on Saturday's GI Alabama Stakes, neither for the connections in it nor likely for the betting public, but despite Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) being the class of the field, it's not as cut and dry of an affair. Currently sitting cosy at 7-5 on the morning line, Candied is deservedly the one to beat as victory in the GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and a gutsy second to 'TDN Rising Star'...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--A long-term plan and a recent decision brought California-based, Indiana-prepped Chatalas (Gun Runner) the rest of the way across the continent to run in the GI $600,000 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Feeling that she is better on dirt, her owners and trainer Mark Glatt decided last winter to avoid grass racing and point her to 3-year-old filly stakes in the Midwest and East. In her first start in seven months, Chatalas won the GIII Indiana Oaks by a head on July 6. Four weeks later, when...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY -- Once the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes is history, 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will head back to running against fillies. Trainer Kenny McPeek said he has no plans on running his talented miss against the colts after the centerpiece of the summer meeting at the Spa. "No, no, no," McPeek said outside of his barn at annex off the Oklahoma Training Track Thursday morning. "A 3-year-old filly against the colts in the Breeders' Cup Classic? Unless it fell apart." The plan moving forward for...

It took trainer Phil Bauer and his owner Richard Rigney a little while to figure the racing game out. From the time Bauer went to work for Rigney in 2013 through 2021, the stable had never had more than 17 wins in a year or earnings in excess of $1,724,016. But the last three years have seen the stable flourish into a win machine and one that can compete at the highest levels of the sport. From 2022 to present, Bauer has had 70 winners from 316 starters for a...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - At 4 a.m. Thursday morning, trainer Kenny McPeek changed the game. With the prospect of stormy weather on the horizon courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby, McPeek decided to move up the work of his star filly, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). So, instead of a Saturday breeze for Thorpedo Anna, she went five furlongs in :59.59 (1/4) on the Oklahoma Training Track with exercise rider Danny Ramsey at 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning. Thorpedo Anna is being pointed to the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes at...

Goliath (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}), who won the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, has received a mark of 125, good for second in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. Leading the list is G1 Dubai World Cup hero Laurel River (Into Mischief) at 128, while G1 Derby and G1 Eclipse Stakes victor City Of Troy (Justify) and UAE and Hong Kong Group 1 winner Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) are both tied for third on a mark of 123. In a five-way tie for fifth, Group 1 winner...

Off a strong performance in Saturday's GI Whitney Stakes, Arthur's Ride (Tapit) jumped to sixth in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. He currently ranks behind G1 Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), top filly and the top-ranked 3-year-old Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), National Treasure (Quality Road), Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) and Idiomatic (Curlin). GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes winner Dornoch (Good Magic) is the top 3-year-old colt in seventh.  Rounding out the top 10 are Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo), The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) and Master of the Seas...

Trainer Kenny McPeek has the horse that all eyes will be on this summer because his 3-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) is taking on the boys in the GI Travers Stakes Aug 24. He talks about the experience of having a horse like this and what it's like dealing with all the people that want to see her. He also tells us about his four-legged friend Sonny and what his life is like away from the racetrack. Read all about it in this week's Saratoga Conversation. TDN: You have...