Reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna will have some extra special fans in the Keeneland crowd on Sunday when she goes to the post for the $650,000 Juddmonte Spinster (G1). Her cheering section will include those who knew her well long before she became a champion because breeder and co-owner Judy Hicks is treating the crew from her Brookstone Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, to a day here.

“I’m 10 minutes down the road,” Hicks said Saturday morning after watching Thorpedo Anna train. “That’s where she was born and raised, and what’s special to me is that I’m going to bring all of my farmhands to watch. So we all as a group are going to wear Thorpedo Anna hats. I’m wanting them to experience maybe a little tiny piece of what I am, and I just feel so excited. They’ve only seen her on TV.”

Hicks said she sensed something special about the 4-year-old filly long before she won at Keeneland on Oct. 26, 2023, in her career debut after training here that summer.

“At the farm she was very independent, she was very strong, and I just liked her conformation and the strength of her hind end,” Hicks said. “I liked her attitude. Everyone says, ‘How do you feel?’ (about her success.) I’ve lost adjectives to describe how it is. I sort of just go with the flow. I go home and take care of my horses, walk with my dogs and come to the races. I’m so proud to be a part of it and to have created it — or she created it herself.”

Trainer Kenny McPeek said Thorpedo Anna might go to the track for light exercise early on Sunday or stay in the barn to await the race with a 5:16 p.m. post time.

The Juddmonte Spinster, which will be run for the 70^th time, is part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” series that offers a guaranteed starting spot and travel expenses to Del Mar for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) on Nov. 1. Thorpedo Anna won last year’s Distaff at Del Mar en route to Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly.