By Bloodhorse.com
OZONE PARK, N.Y. (Jan. 18, 2020) — Mind Control may not make it easy on his connections to watch, but the multiple grade 1 winner sure knows how to hit the finish line first.
The 4-year-old’s penchant for waiting on horses after getting the lead came into play once again in his first test against older rivals, but the end result was quite satisfying as he managed to prevail by a nose in a three-horse photo in the $151,500 Toboggan Stakes (G3) on a snowy Jan. 18 afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack.
“He gives us all a heart attack,” trainer Gregg Sacco said. “He has a tendency to wait on horses. He does it in the mornings when we breeze him behind horses. He got the lead today, then waited on horses and you think he’s tiring. But as soon as he heard the footsteps, he surged and galloped out way ahead of everyone.”
Mind Control, a Kentucky-bred son of California stallion Stay Thirsty, won for the sixth time in 11 starts and increased his earnings to $887,500.
Owned by Red Oak Stable and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, Mind Control made his first start since Aug. 24 when he beat fellow 3-year-olds and notched a victory by a nose in the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. Grade 1 tests in the Carter Handicap (April 4 at Aqueduct) and the Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day await the son of Stay Thirsty , who was bred by Red Oak out of the Lightnin N Thunder mare Feel That Fire. Saturday’s 4-year-old debut was a positive sign that the Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner at 2 seems poised for another big year.
“I’m happy for my brother Rick (the racing manager for Red Oak) and everyone involved with the horse,” Sacco said. “He was facing dead-fit horses that are in a running cycle and we were coming off a five-month layoff. He’s a bigger, stronger 4-year-old and if he stays healthy, it should be a very exciting year for all of us.”
For owner Steve Brunetti of Red Oak, the victory had added meaning as it came on what would have been the 89th birthday of his late father, longtime Hialeah Park owner John J. Brunetti Sr., and there was certainly much to like in the way Mind Control battled after a layoff.
“He would have loved this horse,” Brunetti said about his father, who died in March 2018. “We owned the mare and he was very fond of her. We have pictures of him walking her into the winner’s circle.”
Sent off as a 6-5 favorite ($4.30) in a field of seven, Mind Control broke quickly and pressed the pace in the seven-furlong stakes, a half-length behind Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable, and Terp Racing’s Still Having Fun through splits of :23.64 and :46.76. He poked a head in front at the top of the stretch but matters got interesting in the final furlong. As Still Having Fun dropped back, the trio of American Anthem, Nicodemus, and the New Jersey-bred Sunny Ridge took a run at the leader as jockey John Velazquez worked to keep Mind Control’s mind on the business at hand.
“With 70 yards to go, I said, ‘We’re beat,'” Brunetti said.
Nicodemus and Sunny Ridge had the most late kick but the wire popped up in time as Mind Control prevailed by a nose. The final time was 1:24.23.
There was a stewards’ inquiry involving the stretch run as Mind Control seemed to come out a bit and American Anthem was steadied, but there was no change in the order of finish.
“You never know how they will run off a layoff and we’re ecstatic with the way he ran,” Sacco said. “He trained well but Aqueduct is a deep, laboring track. Today he showed he’s a pro; a genuine horse.”
Everything’s Cricket Racing and Lawrence Goichman’s Nicodemus, a son of Candy Ride trained by Linda Rice, took second by another nose over Dennis Drazin’s Sunny Ridge in the tight finish.
A son of Holy Bull trained by Jason Servis, Sunny Ridge was three-quarters of a length ahead of American Anthem, a Bodemeister 6-year-old making his first start for owner Don Tiger and trainer Danny Gargan.
While the Carter will be the next major goal for Mind Control, Sacco said he might give the 4-year-old a race before that if “he’s kicking the stalls to run.”