Its news that 3yo filly Thorpedo Anna was crowned 2024 Horse of The Year on receiving 193 of the 240 first-place votes at the 54th Annual Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards.

In winning five of her six starts for the season, she began at Oaklawn Park on 30 March with a 4 length victory in the Fantasy Stakes, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr for trainer Kenny McPeek.

Next-up, in the historical 150th Kentucky Oaks on a sloppy Churchill Downs track, Thorpedo Anna whelmed her 14 rivals in beating Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Just FYI by 4¾ length.

Then to Saratoga Summer Meet, and with her second Grade 1 start resulting in a 5½ length victory in the Acorn Stakes, she went onto claim the Coaching Club American Oaks by 4½ lengths.

And next in challenging the boys in the Travers Stakes, the Summer Derby, and stepping up to 1¼m, Thorpedo Anna just failed by a head in a thriller to catch Florida Derby winner Fierceness.

Back to a 1 1/16m a month later, it was a neck victory in the Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing, before ‘streeting the field’ by 2½ lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar, from Raging Seas.

In also being American Champion 3YO for 2024, Thorpedo Anna won two of her three starts at 2 years, and will continue racing as a 4yo with her next start the Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Purchased by Kenny McPeek for just $40,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale, she’ by the Sawgrass Handicap winner Fast Anna from the give-away Uncle Mo mare Sataves.

Bred and part-owned by Judy Hicks of Broadside Farm, Kentucky its said Judy ‘saw something’ in the unraced Sataves, as she’s the family of Grade 1 Eskendereya and Belmont plus Blazonry.

Now joining Rachel Alexandra, in 2009, as the only 3YO Fillies to win the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna out voted fellow 3yo’s Sierra Leone on 10 votes, and Fierceness.

Sierra Leone was Champion 3YO Male for winning the Breeder’s Cup Classic, and is owned by Peter Brant, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg and Brook Smith.

In also winning the Blue Grass Stakes and a close second in the Kentucky Derby, Sierra Leone is trained by Chad Brown who was honoured with his fifth Outstanding Trainer Eclipse Award.

With Chad Brown leading all North American trainers in purses with over $30.8m and 47 graded stakes victories, it was jockey Flavien Prat who topped the jockey earnings with a record $37m.

Trainers Bob Baffert and Brad Cox each trained two Eclipse Award winners with Bob Baffert saddling Citizen Bull to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and claim the 2YO Male Championship.

Bob Baffert also had National Treasure to be named the Champion Older Dirt Male in winning the Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park and Belmont’s Metropolitan Handicap.

Brad Cox trained Idiomatic to claim her second consecutive Older Dirt Female championship with victories in the La Troienne Stakes, Molly Pitcher Stakes and Spinster Stakes at Keeneland.

In addition, Brad Cox had Immersive named Champion 2YO Filly for Godolphin, who were Outstanding Owner for the eight time and Outstanding Breeder for the fourth consecutive year.

They also had Rebel’s Romance voted as Champion Male Turf Horse for trainer Charlie Appleby, while Canadian-bred Moira was the Champion Female Turf Horse for the BC Filly & Mare Turf.

The Saffie Joseph Jr trained Soul of an Angel won the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint to be Champion Female Sprinter, and Dan Blacker had Straight No Chaser as the Champion Male Sprinter.

Erik Asmussen was the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in leading all North American apprentice rides with 127 wins and earnings of over $5m, and as son of Eclipse Award-winning trainer Steve Asmussen his uncle Cash Asmussen won the 1979 Eclipse Award as Apprentice Jockey.

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