Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), the 2024 Horse of the Year and a shoo-in to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2031, the first year she will be eligible, has been retired.
The news came in the form of a press release sent out by Keeneland, McPeek Racing and Hill 'n' Dale.
Additionally, a 20% share in the champion will be offered at the upcoming Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar on Oct. 29.
The announcement came as no surprise as Thorpedo Anna finished a dull fourth in the GI Spinster Stakes in what will be her last race. Afterward, trainer Kenny McPeek told reporters that she would likely be retired.
In the announcement McPeek promised the filly's many fans that there is nothing wrong with her.
“For everybody out there who is worried about her, you can rest at ease,” McPeek said. “She's fine. She has been examined by several veterinarians. Dr. [Larry] Bramlage of Rood and Riddle found some very mild bone bruising, which is consistent with horses in work at her level and she could go back in training in 90 days, but we have opted to retire her.”
Hill 'n' Dale owner John Sikura said a decision as to who she will be bred to has not yet been made and will not until after the Breeders' Cup.
“Her last race was disappointing, but the performance was not her,” Sikura said. “If she were to resume training she would need 90 days off and with her accomplishments she deserved and earned her retirement.”
Of the 20% stake in the champion up for grabs through Keeneland during Breeders' Cup week, Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin added, “It's an incredible privilege to offer an interest in reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. Her brilliance on the track has captured the imagination of fans everywhere. Buyers now have an extraordinary opportunity to share in her future as a broodmare.”
Thorpedo Anna was purchased for just $40,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale of 2022 and became one of many stars that McPeek has found at the sales for bargain-basement prices.
She began her career on Oct. 26, 2023 with an 8 1/2-length win in a maiden at Keeneland. She followed that up with a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard'-earning allowance win and then a second-place finish in the GII Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs.
She was just getting started as 2024 was the year in which she became a superstar. She won four straight, including three Grade I's: the Kentucky Oaks, the Acorn and the Coaching Club American Oaks.
Many believe that her best performance of the year came in her only defeat. Never afraid to try something different, McPeek entered her against males in the GI Travers Stakes. She gave it everything and lost by just a head to the accomplished male and fellow 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Fierceness (City of Light), a four-time Grade I winner.
She finished out 2024 with wins in the GI Cotillion Stakes and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Her 2025 campaign started on a good note as she won the GII Azeri Stakes followed by the GI Apple Blossom Handicap.
But she was never quite the same after that race. She was a distant seventh in the GI La Troienne Stakes and, two races later, was pushed to the limit by Dorth Vader (Girvin) when winning the GI Personal Ensign Stakes by a nose. In the Spinster, she tracked the leaders down the backstretch but had nothing left for the final quarter-mile.
“We're really proud of her,” McPeek said. “She's had tremendous support. Thank you to all the fans that have cheered her on during her career.”
Owned by the partnership of Hill 'n' Dale, Judy Hicks, Mark Edwards and McPeek's Magdalena Racing, Thorpedo Anna retires with a record of 12-for-16 and earnings of $5,440,913. She won 10 stakes races, including seven Grade I's.
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