LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Thorpedo Anna, who had led from the start, came to the head of the stretch in the Kentucky Oaks with a two-length lead, but Eclipse Award champion and post-time favorite Just F Y I was moving up to take dead aim on her while in the clear.  Trainer Kenny McPeek, second in the Oaks three previous times, could have been forgiven for having a bad case of déjà vu. But McPeek, who all week had called Thorpedo Anna “a grizzly,” said he was calm throughout the race. “I was pretty confident throughout the race,” McPeek said. “Especially when I saw the way she was sitting there underneath [jockey] Brian [Hernandez Jr.]. He didn’t have to hustle her to get her there – she took him there. That’s the kind of horse we all need.” Thorpedo Anna was the horse McPeek needed to finally reach that elusive winner’s circle, turning back Just F Y I and splashing clear to a 4 3/4-length victory in the 150th running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks before a crowd of 107,236 on a wet Friday at Churchill Downs. “We work our tail off,” said McPeek, who had been 0 for 14 in the Oaks and was second in the race with Grade 1 talents Take Charge Lady (2002), Daddys Lil Darling (2017), and Swiss Skydiver (2020). “You just work at it, and you work at it, and you try to figure out what kind of formula it’s going to take to come up with a horse that can win races like these. It’s come together today, and you can’t take any of it for granted. You just keep at it.” Thorpedo Anna ($10.98), a daughter of the late Fast Anna who McPeek trains for Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, breeder Judy Hicks, and his own family’s Magdalena Racing, has now won 4 of 5 career starts. After a deep bruise on her hip delayed her 3-year-old campaign, the filly got started in the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes on March 30 at Oaklawn Park, rolling by four lengths over foes that included My Mane Squeeze, who won the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes on Friday’s undercard. Off that win, McPeek was particularly bullish on Thorpedo Anna’s prospects. The filly backed up his words in her training, as she was on the muscle all week – normal behavior for her – including giving her rider all he could handle in her final gallop Thursday morning. The filly used that energy to her advantage the first time through the stretch in the Oaks. Breaking like a shot from post 5 in the field of 14, she quickly moved over to save ground and had her head in front as she, Fiona's Magic, and Ways and Means stacked up through the opening quarter of 22.87 seconds on a track that was sloppy and sealed after intermittent rain overnight and throughout the day.  “Kenny and I have talked about the race a few times over the last few days, and it looked like there was no speed to our inside,” said Hernandez, who also was winning his first Oaks. “We thought if we left there letting her run under the wire the first time, she would get good position, which she did. . . . She was doing it with her ears up and just cruising along.” Thorpedo Anna edged clear to lead by a half-length over Fiona’s Magic – who soon beat a retreat – through the half-mile in 46.79. Ways and Means inherited the second spot in the run down the backstretch, with the top two more than a length clear of Into Champagne and Just F Y I, who was working out a free-running stalking trip after breaking toward the outside at the gate. : Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Thorpedo Anna continued on strongly through six furlongs in 1:11.75 and around the far turn to hit the quarter pole two lengths in front. Just F Y I was tipping out to the three path under Junior Alvarado with no excuses. Still, like McPeek, Hernandez was confident. “It was a magical moment, because turning for home, she was so relaxed and cruising, I was kind of able to enjoy listening to the roar of the crowd for a few jumps,” Hernandez said.  Thorpedo Anna continued to power clear through the stretch to her final margin. She stopped the clock in 1:50.83 for the 1 1/8 miles. Thorpedo Anna earned a career-high 96 Beyer Speed Figure. Trainer Bill Mott was pleased with the strong effort by Just F Y I, who also was making just her second start of the year, and tipped his hat to the winner. “By looking at it, we were second best today,” Mott said. Three lengths behind Just F Y I, Regulatory Risk came on to best her more-fancied stablemate Ways and Means, who hung with her in upper stretch before giving way grudgingly by 2 3/4 lengths for third.  “The winner was making the fractions, and she was a deserving winner,” said Chad Brown, trainer of Regulatory Risk and Ways and Means. Ways and Means “just couldn’t keep up. Talking to Tyler [Gaffalione] after the race, he said he liked the trip. She was in the clear, out of trouble, and they were going fast, but she’s a fast horse. I don’t think that had anything to do with it. . . . [Regulatory Risk] really ran super, and mission accomplished with her.”  After Ways and Means in fourth came Everland, Power Squeeze, Into Champagne, Lemon Muffin, Tarifa, Where’s My Ring, Our Pretty Woman, Gin Gin, Leslie’s Rose, and Fiona’s Magic.  Tarifa, trained by Brad Cox, and Leslie’s Rose, trained by Todd Pletcher, had been the first and second choices on the morning line, but were never involved.  “No excuses,” Cox said. “Not good enough today.”  Pletcher felt Leslie’s Rose did not care for the sloppy track, but he said she appeared to come back in good order. McPeek has never been afraid to campaign runners boldly, including running fillies against males and taking trips to race in Europe. Following the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, which was held in September because of the coronavirus pandemic, McPeek took runner-up Swiss Skydiver to the Preakness Stakes four weeks later, and she outdueled Kentucky Derby winner Authentic for the win. Could a similar campaign be in store for Thorpedo Anna?  “I’ve thought about it already,” McPeek admitted immediately postrace, “but we’ll have to talk to the ownership.”  McPeek added that Thorpedo Anna is not Triple Crown nominated, meaning a $150,000 fee would be required to run in the Preakness. He said the ultimate goal for the filly is the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes in August at Saratoga. “She’s got gear on top of gear,” McPeek said. “Just looking forward to her future, even beyond today.” McPeek’s immediate future includes partnering with Hernandez with Mystik Dan in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. But in the present, the smiles on the faces of the trainer and his barn staff were the brightest things at Churchill Downs on Friday. The sprinkle of rain that fell during the race intensified to a deluge as Thorpedo Anna walked home to the stable area. There was no raining on her parade. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.