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00:00Oh, it is time for the horse of the year to return.
00:04Torpedo Anna is coming back to the races this weekend on Saturday out at Oaklawn Park.
00:11So we head on out for Oaklawn's 10th race to take a look at Torpedo Anna and meet the
00:17field for the Azari.
00:19She was an awesome horse, the horse that this race was named after.
00:23And so it's great to see you have a star in a race that was named after an absolute star.
00:28We also want to remind all of you, all of our friends over at Sports Grid, if you look
00:33at the bottom of the screen below, you can take a look at the promotion we're offering
00:37you for the past performances.
00:39Anytime you need help when you're looking at the races and you need help with some of
00:43that data, you want to head to drf.com.
00:46That's our website.
00:47And then it'll take you right to the shop, shop.drf.com.
00:51You'll look at these past performances is what they are called and all the data that'll
00:55help make your decisions.
00:57We'll see, can we beat Torpedo Anna this week?
01:00Let's meet the field for the Azari.
01:03So the number one Torpedo Anna, she is the reigning horse of the year.
01:07She's raced 10 times in her career.
01:10She's won eight of them.
01:12The two times she lost, she finished second.
01:14And the two times she lost, you can make a legitimate excuse for why she lost that day.
01:20The first one, it was a race that she ran in November of 2023.
01:25And following that, she was off for four months.
01:29So that happens.
01:31Something goes a little bit wrong when you're off for that period of time.
01:34She showed back up.
01:36And 2024, she was incredible.
01:38She won six of her seven races in 2024.
01:42The only race she lost was when she faced the boys and when she faced fierceness in the
01:48Travers.
01:49And in that race, when she finished second, she actually beat Sierra Leone, who was the
01:54Breeders' Cup Classic winner.
01:56She was the horse of the year last year.
01:58And when you're trying to beat horses as a gambler, you're usually poking holes in the
02:04horses that are really short prices.
02:05Why are they going to lose?
02:07What's going to happen to have them get beat?
02:09And it's so hard to do that with her because she is proven at Oaklawn Park.
02:15She's won at the track.
02:16She's proven at the distance.
02:17We know she can get the mile in the 16th, no problem.
02:21She has speed.
02:22So if nobody goes to the front, she can do that.
02:26But if they go too fast early, she can sit off horses and she has no problem passing
02:30and coming from behind.
02:32So she just is one of the really cool horses right now in training.
02:37And when we have a chance to spend an extra minute or two talking about Torpedo Anna,
02:42we definitely want to do so.
02:44She's the horse to beat.
02:46But with horses like her that have a big reputation, everybody knows their name.
02:52It's like the Lakers.
02:53I'm a Laker fan.
02:54But because of that, there's attacks sometimes when you're playing these really popular
02:58teams' lines.
02:58It happens with the Yankees.
03:00It happens with the teams that are very well known or have really good star players where
03:05the public is going to bet them a little bit more.
03:08And I think that might be the case with Torpedo Anna because everybody knows her.
03:11Everybody knows the name.
03:13And you will see people putting a few extra dollars on her, even at the shortest prices.
03:18So if we're going to try to beat a horse like this, when she makes her first start
03:22in a few months, a lot of times that's when you try to beat them.
03:26So she has not raced since November the 2nd.
03:28And she's also going to be making her first start.
03:31She's also going to be a horse that has big plans for the end of the year.
03:35Again, she doesn't want to be peaking right now.
03:38She wants to be at her best later on in the season.
03:41Torpedo Anna, she's the horse to beat in the Azeri this weekend.
03:46The number two is Alpine Princess.
03:48She's very honest.
03:50And she has been in good form in her last couple races.
03:56But she's finished second in her last two.
03:58And those races weren't as strong as this field is.
04:01That's my concern.
04:03I could see her maybe being a horse that passes some horses here late and picks up a minor
04:07award.
04:08I just don't think she's quite on the same level as Torpedo Anna or even the horse right
04:13next door that I want to talk a little bit about, Jodi's Pride.
04:16If you want to bet this race, I think the way you want to bet this race is playing Jodi's
04:22Pride.
04:22Because Torpedo Anna isn't really going to be a price that's playable.
04:26If you want to wager with Torpedo Anna, you're probably playing an X-Acto or a Trifecta and
04:32using her in the top spot.
04:34Maybe you're playing a pick four or a pick five and you're singling her.
04:38But from a win standpoint, she's not going to be valued to play her to win.
04:43But a horse like Jodi's Pride is.
04:46Jodi's Pride was one of the best horses in her age group when she started her career
04:51in her first four starts.
04:53And then she had a couple of small physical issues.
04:56So she has gaps in her racing career.
05:00And most recently, on January the 25th at Gulfstream Park, she was really good.
05:06It was her first start in a couple months.
05:08And she ran exactly like a horse that was probably going to be a little bit tired and
05:12probably need the race to build up some fitness.
05:15She was a really good third.
05:17She moved to the lead and then just got out finished by a couple other horses.
05:21I think she has some sneaky upside because we don't know a whole lot about her.
05:26She's missed some time.
05:27To me, I think she's the only horse in this field that could be on the level of Torpedo
05:32Anna if Torpedo Anna isn't going to show up with her best race.
05:36That's how you have to project it.
05:38So as I'm looking at this race, if Jodi's Pride is somewhere in the 8 to 10 to 1 range,
05:46I think that's a good price on her.
05:47I'll bet a few bucks to win on Jodi's Pride and hope that maybe Torpedo Anna is a little
05:52bit short.
05:53And maybe you can get an even better race from Jodi's Pride, making her second start
05:57after the layoff.
05:59The number four wild about Hillary.
06:01She looks like kind of a long shot in here.
06:03She has good speed.
06:05But right next door to her, the number five recharge also has good speed, and both the
06:11four and the five have just been facing a lot softer competition and stepping up and
06:17facing a horse like Torpedo Anna, who can sit really close and can put pressure on them.
06:22I just don't know if they're going to be able to compete with her.
06:25The next one is free like a girl.
06:27She's actually the all time richest Louisiana bred in history.
06:32She's earned over two million dollars.
06:35Always want to give her a shout out because she's had a fantastic career.
06:38She's won 21 out of her 48 career races, but most of them have been against lesser
06:44competition.
06:46She's just not quite up to the level based on whatever type of speed figures and metrics
06:52that you're using.
06:54She's just not really on that level.
06:56And rounding out the field, Bo draw.
06:59She has not crossed the wire first in her last 14 races.
07:04She got put up via disqualification eight races ago.
07:07She's just not in good form right now.
07:10So as we get set for our next commercial break here, we'll go to the selections and I'm
07:15going to put Jodi's pride on top.
07:16I think if we can get the price eight to one or above, I'll play her to win.
07:21Torpedo Anna is obviously the most logical winner and then some others to round things
07:26out.
07:26We'll go Alpine Princess and we'll go with free like a girl.