Brookdale Racing has sold its share in reigning US Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna, with Hill 'n' Dale acquiring Middle Eastern outfit's 50 per cent interest in the six-time Grade 1 winner.
Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura confirmed the sale of the share in the Kenny McPeek-trained Thorpedo Anna, a last-start winner of the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs in late June.
"It is extremely rare, if not impossible, to acquire an interest in a mare of this calibre," Sikura said in a statement.
"A Horse of the Year, out of a Broodmare of the Year, is beyond a unique commodity. A consummate champion, Thorpedo Anna hails from a pedigree that I have been involved in and respect as foundational to the modern breed.
"Deep in her pedigree are the names of Cosmah, Almahmoud, and the great sires Halo and Northern Dancer who is perhaps the greatest sire ever.
"Kenny has managed her career to perfection and I am excited to be part of the team. We have a shared responsibility to expose our sport to a new audience, as such, NFL superstar and actor Marshawn Lynch is participating in the deal."
The intention is for rising five-year-old Thorpedo Anna to race on next year if she holds her form. Judy Hicks, Mark Edwards and Sherri McPeek's Magdalena Racing have retained their shares in the valuable mare.
The Straight revealed in February that Brookdale Racing acquired all of the Australian racing and breeding interests of Phoenix Thoroughbreds, a portfolio which includes Group 1-winning mare Loving Gaby.
Brookdale Racing Pty Ltd is wholly owned by Bahrain-based Nader Hasan Moosa Jaafar Alaali.
It was confirmed this week that Phoenix Thoroughbreds' founder Amer Abdulaziz Salman has been jailed in the US for 15 months over conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Bren O’Brien
The 61-year-old Bahraini businessman was jailed last month in Pennsylvania, according to reports in the Racing Post, and will remain at the Loretto Federal Correctional Institution, a low-security facility in Pennsylvania, until October 20, 2026.
Abdulaziz was sentenced for his role in the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin, with Phoenix confirming in a statement this week that he was now in jail.
Thorpedo Anna has won 11 of her 14 starts and banked US$5.1 million in prize money after McPeek selected her out of the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale for just US$40,000.
Thorpedo Anna's new co-owners, Hill 'n' Dale's Sikura and his son Jas, have also previously dipped their toes into the Australian bloodstock market.
In conjunction with Australian bloodstock agent Will Johnson, they teamed up with trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott at the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to buy an I Am Invincible filly for $1.7 million.
Named Rosie Rouge, the filly is the first foal out of Zoustar's Group 2-winning mare Madam Rouge who raced once as a two-year-old and is currently listed as spelling on Racing Australia.
Tim Rowe
