'Bright Thought' Wins $200K John Henry Turf Championship At Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Bright Thought snapped a seven-race skid, winning the $200,000 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita by three-quarters of a length Sunday.

Ridden by Tyler Baze, Bright Thought ran 1 1/4 miles on the turf in 1:58.27 and paid $16.40, $8.60 and $4.20.

Finnegan's Wake, idle since running fifth in the Arlington Million on Aug. 16, rallied from next-to-last to finish second and returned $6.80 and $4.

Big John B was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $2.20 to show as the 4-5 favorite. His three-race win streak ended.

The victory, worth $120,000, increased Bright Thought's career earnings to $339,161, with five wins in 15 starts. He was making his second start for trainer Phil D'Amato.

"He's just a classy horse," said D'Amato, who plans to point Bright Thought toward the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita.