Thorpedo Anna

It's an interesting year when it comes to the Eclipse Awards, which will be announced next week. As always, there are the categories that are no-brainers where the winners should be unanimous. But there are several divisions this year that aren't so clear-cut, which will make for an interesting ceremony come Jan. 23. Here's a look at my ballot: Two-Year-Old Male: Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) Became the obvious pick after winning the 2024 GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Scary thing is that he might be no better than the third...

Dornoch (Good Magic), Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and Fierceness (City of Light) in the Three-Year-Old Male category were among the finalists for the 2024 Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence through the past year in Thoroughbred racing, the National Thoroughbred Racing Associaiton (NTRA) said in a Sunday release. Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be announced on FanDuel TV, and other outlets, during the ceremony, presented by John Deere, Keeneland, and The Jockey Club, on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the...

With plenty of tasty birthday cake in the offing, a cadre of newly-minted 3-year-old colts have blown out their candles and are ready for stakes action across four tracks on Saturday. Leading the charge at Santa Anita is the GII San Vicente Stakes, which is the annual renewal of the seven furlong dirt race. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won 13 prior editions, including last year with Muth (Good Magic). In customary fashion, the Hall of Famer enters a pair of runners in Barnes (Into Mischief) and Romanesque...

Ten events from Thoroughbred racing in North America last year were nominated for the 2024 FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year, a distinction determined by fan voting and recognized at the annual Eclipse Awards, according to a press release from the NTRA on Thursday morning. Voting is now open on the NTRA website and via X, where every retweet or use of the official hashtag for the moments as presented on the @NTRA account will be counted as one vote. The FanDuel Racing-NTRA Moment of the Year will be recognized...

While Runhappy has always been 'The Man' in Cordell Anderson's book, over the past two months, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) has quickly become 'The Girl.' Anderson is best known for his steady presence in the sales ring. The Jamaican-born horseman has been a showman at Keeneland for the past 35 years, leading countless horses to seven-figure sales over the decades, but Anderson has also worked for various racing stables throughout his career. He worked for Kenny McPeek about 20 years ago before later moving on to Laura Wohlers of Gallery...

Trainer Ken McPeek confirmed Sunday that Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), leading candidate to be named the champion sophomore filly and Horse of the Year for the 2024 season, underwent a procedure this past week to remove a 'small splinter of bone' in her jaw. HHH Racing Podcast (@hhhracingpod) first reported the news and was subsequently confirmed by McPeek on the platform. "To be clear, she is a very strong filly to gallop, at some point she had a sore inside her mouth we watched and it wouldn't heal," McPeek said...

When the TDN staff decided to make Patch Adams (Into Mischief) and Chasten (Into Mischief) 'TDN Rising Stars' after their maiden wins Saturday at Churchill Downs history was made by trainer Brad Cox. Never before has a trainer had two Rising Stars on the same day. Both were obvious choices. Patch Adams ran away from his competition to win by 10 lengths. Chasten, a winner by 1 ½ lengths, wasn't quite as impressive, but that she is half-sister to 2023 Older Filly & Mare Champion Idiomatic (Curlin) obviously swayed the...

Trainer Ken McPeek, who campaigned GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) and GI Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), will be awarded the 2024 Big Sport of Turfdom award, the Turf Publicists of America announced Monday. The award, which recognizes a person who enhances coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media, will be presented at the University of Arizona Race Track Program's annual awards luncheon held Dec. 10. "Ken and his team have had an outstanding year with multiple triumphs on not only our sport's biggest stage...

Multiple Grade I winner 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will be paraded at Churchill Downs Friday, Nov. 29 in the paddock during the ninth race, the race track announced Sunday afternoon. One of the candidates for Horse of the Year honors, the presumed champion 3-year-old filly will join the field during the walkover to the paddock and will remain there through the race, from approximately 4:30 to 4:50 p.m. Thorpedo Anna has won five races at the elite level this season, namely the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, DK...

It was perhaps the decision of a lifetime for Judy Hicks when she famously went up to Kenny McPeek after he purchased Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and asked if she could stay in for a small piece of the filly she bred. Just a year later, while still awaiting Thorpedo Anna's debut, Hicks went and made another similar arrangement. Hicks sold Thorpedo Anna's half-brother for $40,000--coincidentally the same price that 'Anna' had sold for--at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale. Afterwards, she approached Jake Ballis of Black Type Thoroughbreds and asked...

There are no rules or even guidelines when it comes to choosing horses or humans for Eclipse Awards. There is though, at least in the human categories, conventional wisdom. Just pick the person whose stable earned the most money. That's what most voters do. If you base your vote on that criteria, Chad Brown is the obvious pick for trainer of the year. Through Nov. 9, his stable has earned $29,707,240. Steve Asmussen is second at $25,736,730. Brown leads all trainers in graded stakes wins (46) and Grade I wins...

Breeders' Cup-winning owner Frank Calabrese, who took home 10 consecutive leading owner titles at Arlington Park starting in 2000 and bred late sire Fast Anna, passed away on his 96th birthday, Monday, Nov. 4 at his home in Park Ridge, Illinois. A pioneer in the printing, Calabrese founded FCL Graphics in 1973 and sold the business in 2004. The avid horseplayer ran under FCC stables and paired primarily with trainer Wayne Catalano. With homebred Dreaming of Anna (Rahy), the duo won the 2006 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Woodbine,...