Thought Process Tackles Baffert Trio in Summertime Oaks

Graded stakes-winning turf filly Thought Process begins her sophomore campaign with a return to the dirt for the first time since her debut in the $100,000 Summertime Oaks (G3) June 7 at Santa Anita Park. Trained by Phil D'Amato for the Estate of Brereton Jones, Little Red Feather Racing, and Madaket Stables, Thought Process has been unraced since a disappointing effort in last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). Sent off at 4-1 odds following back-to-back stakes wins in Southern California, the Collected filly set testing fractions on the front end before tiring late to finish ninth. Following several stout works over the Santa Anita main track, including a bullet five furlongs in :59 May 12, Thought Process will try the dirt again in the 1 1/16-mile Summertime Oaks. She was third in her only other start on the dirt, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special event last July. "She’s been training great on the main track and there really wasn’t another stakes spot on grass for her," D’Amato explained of the surface switch. "We thought we’d give it a shot and see how it goes leading into Del Mar. If she runs well it will give us a lot more options down the road." Regular rider Hector Berrios retains the mount on the filly in her 3-year-old debut. Bob Baffert, a four-time winner of the Summertime Oaks, will saddle a trio of fillies Saturday, including explosive last-out allowance winner Cash Call. A $600,000 McKinzie filly, CSLR Racing Partners' Cash Call garnered a 102 Equibase Speed Figure for her dominating five-length victory May 18. This will be her first time tackling stakes company. CSLR Racing Partners also own the Baffert-trained Silent Law, runner-up in the April 5 Santa Anita Oaks (G2). Baffert's third entrant is Baoma's Howin, a last-out third in the Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3).