Tough trip can’t torpedo ‘Anna’ in Cotillion

By Tim Wilkin, for Parx Racing (Joe Labozetta/EQUI-PHOTO of Brian Hernandez guiding Thorpedo Anna to victory in Parx’s G1 Cotillion)

BENSALEM, Pa. – When it was over, trainer Kenny McPeek admitted he didn’t have his super filly Thorpedo Anna at her absolute best in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing.

But she was good enough. 

The runaway leader of the 3-year-old filly division overcame a tricky trip and won the 1 1/16-mile race by a neck over a game Gun Song.

“We didn’t train her all that hard for this race,” McPeek said in the winner’s circle. “I felt like, ‘let’s not squeeze the lemon really hard for this.’ I thought we could win it regardless and we did. She is just an exceptional individual. A win is a win. I’m going to take it. I’m not complaining.”

With the win, Thorpedo Anna improves her record to five wins in six starts this year. The Cotillion was her fifth straight Grade 1 race and she’s won four of them. The lone blemish was a tough second-place decision to top 3-year-old colt Fierceness in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course four weeks ago.

McPeek said he was never concerned that the Travers would take anything out of his popular filly.

“None whatsoever,” McPeek said. “I don’t know why four weeks seems to be an issue with everybody. She has done great. She has been a real consistent filly, easy to be around. What I was worried about was shipping and running over a racetrack she had never run over, worked over or trained over.”

Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. had a little more worry about what the Travers might have done to his partner.

“It’s always in the back of your mind,” Hernandez said about a possible regression after the Travers effort. “Especially with 3-year-old fillies. You have to expect them to regress a little bit. She ran so hard against the boys in the Travers. We knew she was the best horse in the race by far, but, at the same time, coming off such a big effort last time, I was worried we would regress a little bit. 

Thorpedo Anna and Hernandez found themselves boxed in for a good portion of the race by front runners Mystic Lake, ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, and Gun Song with fellow Hall of Famer John Velazquez. 

“We were having a tough trip all the way around there,” Hernandez said. “We were just stuck there behind them for a long, long time. Then, we finally got a little seam turning for home. She had the will to win and she showed her heart from that point on.”

Hernandez was confident in his filly as he never went to his stick. Once Thorpedo Anna got to the outside, she showcased her athleticism and was able to hold off Gun Song, who went off at 44-1.

Thorpedo Anna was the heavy 1-9 favorite in the field of eight.

“That was a good run, I was proud of her,” Gun Song’s trainer Mark Hennig said. “I didn’t have any confidence that we had her (Thorpedo Anna) but I was proud to see her fight back once she got passed.”

“I waited and waited and the horse in front (Mystic Lake) was stopping and that’s how (Thorpedo Anna) got out,” Velazquez said. “If that horse doesn’t stop, I hold in there a little bit longer, but she fought.”

The longer Thorpedo Anna was blocked, the more McPeek began to squirm a bit. He knew he had the best horse, but the best horse doesn’t always win.

“It didn’t go well,” he said. “She got about run into the rail. They held her in there as long as they could and (Hernandez) had to make his own path. They could have held her in there longer and she is a beat horse. It was a little nerve-racking.”

Thorpedo Anna was timed in 1:45.45 and paid $2.20 to win.

McPeek said he will send her back to Saratoga Sunday and she will likely stay there until shipping to California for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar in November.

“We didn’t really have to hammer on her for this race,” McPeek said. “We really, really want to win the next one.”

Gun Song finished 3 1/2 lengths in front of the Brad Cox-trained Tarifa, who was ridden by Flavien Prat. That one also played a part in having Thorpedo Anna boxed in, but she could not sustain her action to keep her there.

“Obviously, when I saw Thorpedo Anna on the inside, I was trying to see if I could keep her in there,” Prat said. “I didn’t have enough horse to hold her in there.”

After Tarifa, Mystic Lake finished fourth and was followed by Everland, Scalable, Power Squeeze and Sidamara.