Thought Process is Going Back to Work on Labor Day

It's about time she showed up. Thought Process became the de facto leader of the West Coast grass females the moment she emerged from her late 3-year-old hibernation to win a pair of graded stakes in February and May of 2026. She did her job with style and grace, stalking each pace and winning as she pleased, as if no other outcome had been remotely possible, after which she immediately returned to a lengthy seclusion, allowing others to take their occasional bows. Now, after another three-month absence for the Garbo of the Phil D'Amato barn, the daughter of Collected will come forth to decorate the final program of the Del Mar meet on Labor Day, Sept. 7. Thought Process ranks atop a field of 10 going 1 1/8 miles on the grass in the $250,000 John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T). Originally known as the Ramona Handicap before being relabeled for the track's longtime leader, the Mabee has been run continuously since 1959. Eclipse Award winners Flawlessly, Possibly Perfect, Escena, and Brown Bess adorn the list of winners, although championship cases also could have been made for the likes of Mabee winners Tizna, Sangue, Megahertz, Affluent, and Vasilika through the years. Thought Process has a ways to go before joining such company, but with seven wins in 10 starts, she has a good start. She was a maiden race winner on the Del Mar turf in 2024, and this weekend she celebrates the second anniversary of her score that summer in the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf Stakes. Last year, Thought Process won the San Clemente Handicap (G2T) and was a close third in the Del Mar Oaks (G1T) after leading deep into the stretch. D'Amato said there has been good reason for the generous spacing between races this year for Thought Process. "Knowing this filly, keeping her fresh and happy was the main thing," the trainer said. "There's a nice series ahead of her leading up to the Breeders' Cup, so now she's had her mini-break, and it's time to have a filly with a full tank for what's ahead of her. So here we go." With the Mabee as a starting point, it will be 26 days to the mile and one-quarter Rodeo Drive Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park, then 28 days to the 1 3/16-mile Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1T) at Keeneland. The Rodeo Drive is a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series Win and You're In race. The younger Thought Process might have been vulnerable at 1 1/8 miles and beyond, but her 2 3/4-length romp in the Gamely Stakes (G1T) in May proved otherwise for the 4-year-old version. Still, in the Mabee she will be faced with a collection of well-meant opponents from stables in good form. C R K Stable's Medoro returns to the scene of her win in the 2025 Osunitas Stakes for trainer Peter Eurton, who has been campaigning the daughter of Honor Code in the Midwest this season. Medoro is very much a homegirl, though, placing in four graded Del Mar stakes topped by seconds in the 2024 Del Mar Oaks and the 2025 Mabee, in which she was favored. Medoro's Kentucky campaign this spring and summer was highlighted by a narrow miss when third in the Jenny Wiley Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland. "Getting beat that day what looked like only a neck and a nose was something special," Eurton said. "She might be just a notch below those horses when she's on her game, but she really showed me something. She's just one of those fillies that tries all the time—whatever the going, whatever the case may be." After her last race at Ellis Park, Medoro was back at Del Mar the third week of August and has worked twice on the main track, including a half in :49 4/5 Aug. 31. "I watched the work, and it was far from :49," Eurton said. "But that's okay. I loved it." The Jeff Mullins barn could end a good meet on a high note with Baltic Fire, winner of this summer's Osunitas Stakes, and so could Antonio Garcia, who sends out Solana Beach Stakes winner Fibonaccis Ride. Whiskey Decision brought solid East Coast form to a new home in the Michael McCarthy stable this summer and deserves another chance after giving way in the Yellow Ribbon Stakes (G2T). The same goes for Vincey Girl, a multiple stakes winner in Florida for Jose D'Angelo, whose local crew also sends out Del Mar allowance optional claiming winner Bojaca Blessing. The Irish filly Canto Della Terra (IRE), second to Bojaca Blessing, will join stablemate Thought Process in the lineup, while the outsiders include Firenze Flavor, the 2025 Honeymoon Stakes (G3T) winner who has not raced since last October, and Pura Vida Princesa, trained by meet leader Doug O'Neill, who took a while to find her footing but has now won three of her last five starts. The Mabee will go as the ninth race on the 11-race season finale.