Thought Process © Benoit Photo
The 3-year-old filly division – always one that requires a fair degree of sorting out – takes a step toward local clarity here Saturday when nine classy lassies run a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course in the 58th edition of the San Clemente Handicap.
The race, a Grade II presentation that offers a $200,000 purse, goes as Race 9 on an 11-race program. It is seen as a key stepping stone toward the track’s piece de resistance for the soph distaff crew, the Grade I, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, which will be run for the 69th time going nine furlongs on the green on Saturday, August 16.
The San Clemente, won last year by Del Mar’s Horse of the Meet Iscreamuscream, is headed this time by the Collected chestnut Thought Process, who is owned by the partnership of Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and the Estate of Brereton C. Jones. She drew the topweight assignment of 123 pounds and will be handled by Hector Berrios.
Thought Process, who races out of the barn of ace turf conditioner Phil D’Amato, has won four of six lifetime starts and has banked $224,200 so far. She’s listed at 8/5 on the track’s morning line.
Seen as her chief threats are Augustin Stables’ Will Then, a double stakes winner who’ll be handled by Mike Smith, and Pegram, Watson and Weitman’s Casalu, also a double stakes winner who’ll have Kazushi Kimura in the tack.
Additionally on the Saturday card is a most interesting edition of the Wickerr Stakes, an overnight affair that carries a value of $100,000 and is run at a mile on the lawn.
What makes this year’s wide-open renewal of the Wickerr so noteworthy is the return to action of C R K Stable’s Beyond Brilliant, a now 7-year-old horse by Twirling Candy who’ll be back in action after more than two and a half years on the sidelines.
The multiple-stakes winner of $776,780 has been nursed back to racing fitness by veteran conditioner John Shirreffs and will be ridden for the first time by Drayden Van Dyke.
In a slight surprise, morning line maker John Lies has made the comebacker a lukewarm 7/2 favorite in the 11-horse lineup that goes as Race 7 on the day.
First post Saturday is at 2 p.m.