Thorpedo Anna vs. 6 hopefuls

Photo:

Justin Manning / Eclipse Sportswire

Oaklawn hosts the Grade 1, 1 1/16-mile Apple Blossom on Saturday, with a $1.25 million purse. The star of the show is reigning horse of the year Thorpedo Anna.

This is not the first time a champion has graced the Hot Springs, Ark., oval. Since its first running for females in 1973, such legends of the track as Susan’s Girl, Bold’n Determined, Bayakoa and Paseana, Heavenly Prize and Banshee Breeze have won the Apple Blossom. Azeri, the 2002 horse of the year, won the Apple Blossom that year and twice more and is the namesake of the local prep for this race. Of course, Zenyatta won the Apple Blossom twice, and most recently, Untapable and Midnight Bisou passed through to add this Grade 1 to their championship resumes.

Thorpedo Anna and Where’s My Ring hold 100-plus speed figures across the board, but Where’s My Ring has the honor of the highest HRN speed figure, a 135. Thorpedo Anna is just four points behind with a 131 HRN speed figure. the next fastest after those two is Free Like a Girl with a 125 HRN speed figure.

On the TimeformUS scale, Thorpedo Anna tops at 129, followed by Where’s My Ring at 123 and Free Like a Girl at 116.

Thorpedo Anna has the top Brisnet figure with a 107, Where’s My Ring checks in at 104, and Free Like a Girl sits at an even 100.

On the Beyer Speed Figure scale, Thorpedo Anna tops at 111, with the only other 100-plus figure coming from Where’s My Ring at a 103.

Wild Bout Hilary and Sweet Alyssa are kind of wild cards in this race, with above-average figures on the TimeformUS and HRN scales and average figures on the rest.

Pace makes the race, of course, but with Thorpedo Anna’s tactical ability and regular rider Brian Hernandez Jr. in the irons, a meltdown that affects her is unlikely.

Here are the top speed figures from the past 12 months for the Apple Blossom contenders.

*Beyer and TimeformUS speed figures are provided courtesy of Daily Racing Form.