Thought Process has returned as a 3-year-old as perfectly as anyone could ask. Dominating in her comeback race at Santa Anita Park, she moved on to Del Mar with elan, easily vanquishing a talented field in the July 19 San Clemente Handicap (G2T).
The win accomplished several goals. Trainer Phil D'Amato took the race for the third time in four years. The Little Red Feather Racing partnership, which owns Thought Process with the estate of Brereton C. Jones and Madaket Stables, loves to win at Del Mar. And the Airdrie Stud operation, breeder of the filly, has a yearling half brother ready to market at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Thought Process didn't surprise anyone, going off the heavy 2-5 favorite in the one-mile San Clemente. She has often led from start to finish, and she broke well from post 5 for jockey Hector Berrios. However, Silent Law, a Bob Baffert trainee making her first start on turf, spurted to the front from the outside, taking command into the first turn and posting early fractions of :23.82 and :48.34.
Fourth along the rail, Thought Process moved outside of Silent Law to run with the pacesetter down the backstretch. Silent Law pulled away again, but Thought Process had plenty in reserve. She ranged up on the second turn, grabbed the lead with a quarter-mile left, and pulled away from the field.
Casalu, another Baffert trainee and a two-time stakes winner on turf, closed well, but could not catch Thought Process, who defeated her by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:36.24. Will Then, the 5-1 second choice, finished third.
"I tried to let her relax, but the pace was slow so I put her out," Berrios said. "I didn't want to get stuck inside."
D'Amato was capturing his second consecutive San Clemente, following Iscreamuscream (also owned in partnership by Little Red Feather) in 2024. D'Amato won his first San Clemente with Bellabel in 2022. D'Amato had an excellent afternoon at Del Mar, earlier winning the Wickerr Stakes with Almendares.
Thought Process has been nearly unbeatable on the turf after she finished third on dirt in her debut. She scored in the 2024 Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes and Surfer Girl Stakes (G3T) before finishing ninth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). Her connections gave her 7 1/2 months off to mature before she annihilated an allowance field by 5 3/4 lengths in her June 14 comeback.
"She's a big, strapping filly—she always was," D'Amato said. "I think that's going to carry her on as a good 3-year-old and a 4-year-old—size, scope, and a great turn of foot. Our goal here was to try to get her to relax and finish up."
Little Red Feather and Madaket have had good success partnering with Airdrie Stud, a team headed by the late Brereton C. Jones and his son, Bret. The younger Jones noted that Airdrie acquired Creative Thinking, the dam of Thought Process and a daughter of Creative Cause , as a yearling, and she became a stakes winner under the tutelage of Tom Proctor.
Airdrie put Thought Process through two yearling sales—Keeneland September as a $120,000 RNA and the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale as a $57,000 RNA. Buyers missed out on a good one, as she now has a record of five wins in seven starts for total earnings of $344,200.
Jones said Creative Thinking has a colt by Win Win Win entered in this year's Keeneland sale.
Collected , the sire of Thought Process, stands at Airdrie near Midway, Ky., for a 2025 stud fee of $10,000. The stallion has also sired 2025 stakes winners Mansetti and Little Jamie. A seven-time stakes winner, Collected won his biggest race at Del Mar, taking the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) in 2017.
