Thought Process took them all the way in dominating fashion, Benoit Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA — Grade I winner Thought Process made short work of her outclassed rivals when rolling to a dominant gate-to-wire victory under jockey Hector Berrios in the Grade II, $200,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes for fillies and mares going 1 ¼ miles on turf at Santa Anita Park. With the win, Thought Process earns a fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf on Oct. 31 at Keeneland via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.
Trained by Phil D’Amato, 4-5 favorite Thought Process won by 4 ¼ lengths over Vronti, the 5-1 second choice ridden by Juan Hernandez and trained by Graham Motion. It was another half-length back to 64-1 longshot Resolve in third.
Thought Process set fractions of 24.51, 48.33, 1:12.54 and 1:35.85 before crossing the finish line in a time of 1:58.47.
“When I saw those fractions, I thought this was really within our wheelhouse,” D’Amato said. “Kudos to Hector Berrios for doing a great job and this filly she loves this turf course here. I think all those things combined helped get us a nice win.”
The win by Thought Process was her third graded stakes victory in four starts this year, which includes the GI Gamely going 1 1/8 miles in May at Santa Anita. The lone loss this campaign came in her previous start on Sept. 7 when finishing second by one length under Berrios as the odds-on favorite in the GII John C. Mabee going 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar.
“I think last time I got beat because I fought her too much,” Berrios said. “This time, I let her break, she settled and I dropped my hands. She liked it. When it was time to run, she showed her power. I think I learned something last time. She’s ready for the next one.”
A 4-year-old filly by Collected, Thought Process is owned by Estate of Brereton C. Jones, Little Red Feather Racing and Madaket Stables. She improved to 12: 8-1-2 with more than $850,000 in earnings.
“We knew last time, from the last race, that we weren’t going to let them get close to us at the quarter pole,” D’Amato said. “We were going to use her tactical speed to her advantage. (Berrios) turned her loose and she responded. To me, it shows that added ground, with the right scenario, shouldn’t be an issue.”
Thought Process paid $3.60, $2.40 and $2.40. Vronti returned $4.40 and $4.80. Resolve, ridden by Armando Ayuso for trainer Leonard Powell, paid $12.80.
Live racing resumes Sunday at Santa Anita with a 10-race card featuring the Grade III Zuma Beach Stakes for 2-year-olds at one mile on turf and GIII Surfer Girl for 2-year-old fillies going one mile on turf. First post is at 1 p.m. PT.
GRADE II, RODEO DRIVE STAKES QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
HECTOR BERRIOS, THOUGHT PROCESS, WINNER: “I think last time I got beat because I fought her too much. This time, I let her break, she settled and I dropped my hands. She liked it. When it was time to run, she showed her power. I think I learned something last time. She’s ready for the next one.”
TRAINER QUOTES
PHILIP D’AMATO, THOUGHT PROCESS, WINNER: “She controlled the pace there. When I saw those fractions, I thought this was really within our wheelhouse. Kudos to Hector Berrios for doing a great job and, this filly, she loves this turf course here. I think all those things combined helped get us a nice win. We knew last time, from the last race, that we weren’t going to let them get close to us at the quarter pole. We were going to use her tactical speed to her advantage, and he turned her loose and she responded. To me, it shows that added ground, with the right scenario, shouldn’t be an issue.”
OWNER QUOTES
BILLY KOCH, LITTLE RED FEATHER RACING, THOUGHT PROCESS, WINNER: “It was pretty cool. We knew how special this filly was. We were kind of disappointed last time and Hector even said he blamed us for not just sending her to the lead in the race down at Del Mar. So he took command today, we had a long talk about just letting her be comfortable. I didn’t care how fast or slow they went, I didn’t think a mile and a quarter was going to be a problem, and Hector did a great job. They flew home. Let’s see what happens at Keeneland.”
NOTES: The winning owners are Estate of Brereton C. Jones, Little Red Feather Racing and Madaket Stables LLC.
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