Medoro, Thought Process won't get rematch after Mabee clash
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There will be no rematch in the short-term between Medoro and Thought Process, the top two finishers of the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes at Del Mar on Monday.
Medoro, who won the richest race of her career in the $252,500 Mabee Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf, is unlikely to start again until the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 29, trainer Peter Eurton said. The $300,000 Matriarch Stakes is the leading race for fillies and mares on turf in California in the second half of the year.
“There’s the Grade 1 influence and she likes Del Mar,” Eurton said.
Eurton said he is opposed to starting Medoro in the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Santa Anita on Oct. 3.
“I don’t want to go a mile and a quarter,” he said.
Eurton said the Matriarch Stakes, which frequently draws a national field, might be one of Medoro’s last races. She is scheduled to be bred in early 2027.
“She runs well fresh,” Eurton said. “She might like the mile.”
Owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stables, Medoro won for the seventh time in her 18th start in the Mabee Stakes, her sixth stakes win.
Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Medoro ($8.60) closed from fourth in a field of 10 to win by a length over 3-5 favorite Thought Process, who raced behind pacesetter Pura Vida Princesa before leading briefly in the stretch.
The Mabee was the first start for Thought Process since a win in the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf at Santa Anita on May 25, the leading grass race for fillies and mares in California in the first half of the year.
Thought Process could run in the Rodeo Drive or the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes, an $800,000 race for fillies and mares at a mile on turf at Keeneland on Oct. 3.
“We’re leaning toward the Rodeo Drive,” trainer Phil D’Amato said.
The winner of the Rodeo Drive Stakes receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at 1 3/16 miles at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
In the Mabee Stakes, Thought Process, who was ridden by Hector Berrios, was the victim of jockey tactics, D’Amato said.
“That filly has great tactical speed,” D’Amato said of Medoro. “Hector had one horse that could beat him and I think Juan Hernandez outrode him.
“He got the jump on us and that was the race.”
Thought Process has won 7 of 11 starts, including five stakes, and has earned $730,200.
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