Heavy favorite and multiple graded stakes winner Thought Process turned a leisurely stalking trip into a decisive victory in the May 25 Gamely Stakes (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.
The 4-year-old daughter of Collected came into the 1 1/8-mile turf race off a 2-length win in the Buena Vista Stakes (G2T) and a 3-for-3 record at Santa Anita contributed to her being the 7-5 favorite at the break.
Jockey Hector Berrios was content to let Thought Process settle in behind Augustin Stables homebred Rashmi and rider Kazushi Kimura, who took the lead quickly and held that position through early fractions of :23.80, :48.45, and 1:12.84. The order of the top four in the field of eight did not change until the leaders rounded out of the second turn and into the stretch.
Thought Process turned up heat in the straightaway and moved easily past Rashmi without a challenge and hit the wire 2 3/4 lengths the best. Rashmi was followed by Take a Breath, whose late rally allowed her to take the show spot by a nose ahead of Hang the Moon. The final time was 1:47.51.
"I thought we were in a really good position and I could see she was nice and comfortable," said Thought Process's trainer Phil D'Amato. "I could see the horse on the lead was also going very easy. When Hector asked her in the stretch, she responded and opened up. It was a hand ride from there."
The Gamely produced Thought Process's first win in a grade 1, though she owned grade 1 credentials already with a third in last year's Del Mar Oaks (G1T). After her grade 1-placed finish, the filly got very sick, according to Billy Koch with co-owner Little Red Feather Racing.
"So to run her back in a race like this, it was pretty incredible," he said. "If someone asked me what the dream scenario would have been, we saw it."
D'Amato said he and owners will put their heads together for her next step with the long-term goal of getting her to the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T), which will be run this year at Keeneland.
Thought Process is owned by the estate of Brereton C. Jones, Little Red Feather Racing, and Madaket Stables. She was bred by the late Jones, who founded Airdrie Stud in Central Kentucky, where the filly was raised.
Jones bred Thought Process out of the Creative Cause stakes winner Creative Thinking, who Jones raced with trainer Tom Proctor. As a yearling, Thought Process was offered at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and bought back on a final bid of $120,000. She was then offered at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale, where she was bought back again at a final price of $57,000.
Thought Process ended up with Little Red Feathers' partnership group with Bret Jones, who now runs Airdrie, staying in along with Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables. The filly has now won seven of 10 career starts and earned $680,200.
Collected, a grade 1 winner by City Zip, started his stud career at Airdrie in 2019 and stood there through the 2025 breeding season. He was relocated to Rancho San Miguel in California for the 2026 season and stands for $7,500.
