Mind Control Springs Another Spa Upset in Jerkens

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.–Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) returned to the scene of his previous greatest triumph in the GI Hopeful S. to secure his second win at the highest level with late-surging upset in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. at Saratoga Saturday. Sent off at odds of 10-1, the same odds he was given in the Hopeful last term, the bay showed good early initiative, rushing up alongside 1-5 favorite and recent GII Amsterdam S. romper Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) and 20-1 shot Call Paul (Friesian Fire). Perched three-wide as Shancelot clocked a first quarter in :23.15, Mind Control sat back a bit, letting the top two go clear as the half went up in :45.58. Hall of Famer John Velazquez remained patient with his mount while four-wide turning for home. Seeming to stall a bit in early stretch, Mind Control kicked it into high gear just in time, surging forward alongside GI Woody Stephens S. upsetter Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) and Rowayton (Into Mischief) to nail Shancelot on the wire in a tight photo. Mind Control was declared the winner by a nose over Hog Creek Hustle and Shancelot was a nose behind that one in third with Rowayton a neck back in fourth.

“Wow. It was a great performance,” said Sacco. “His last two trips were so brutal. The Woody Stephens was a nightmare. My brother [Rick Sacco] picked out a great spot for him in Maryland [in the Concern S.] and it wasn't really a step down. He wanted the six weeks and he thought the [GII] Amsterdam would be a tough heat and it turned out to be an unbelievable heat, and he didn't want a month back. This was the race we were pointing for since the Woody, all summer. We wanted him in peak performance. He's gutsy horse. I can't say enough about him and about my staff and the way they prepared him.”

The conditioner added, “Johnny [Velazquez] is the best. He saved a little bit and then moved at the right time. He surged with such grit. I'm fortunate and blessed to have a horse like Mind Control in our shedrow. I didn't know it was his nose there on the wire. I was saying a couple of prayers, and I was hoping. But he's a tough, tough horse.”

“I really didn't know if I had it,” Velazquez said. “I got beat twice on the wire here, and I didn't want to jinx myself. [Greg] asked me, and I said, 'I don't think I got it. [But] let's see what happens.'”

Jorge Navarro, trainer of previously undefeated favorite Shancelot, said, “He just got beat. That's horse racing. He's still a winner to me. I felt good in the stretch but it's just one of those things. As long as he comes back good, we'll be fine.”

Off the board in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile following his Hopeful score last term, Mind Control opened his 2019 account with a victory in Aqueduct's Jerome S. on New Year's Day. Runner-up in that venue's GIII Gotham S. next out Mar. 9, he bypassed the GII Wood Memorial S. in favor of sticking to sprint distances and won the GIII Bay Shore S. in Ozone Park on the undercard Apr. 6. Eighth behind Hog Creek Hustle in Belmont's GI Woody Stephens S. June 8, the bay checked in third in the Concern S. at Laurel last time July 14.

Pedigree Notes:

Mind Control's stakes-winning dam Feel That Fire was campaigned by this same owner/trainer combination. A full-sister to SW Ima Jersey Girl and a half to MSW sophomore King For A Day (Uncle Mo), she has a 2-year-old filly named My Gift From Above (Bodemeister) who was most recently second in a Monmouth maiden special weight Aug. 10. Feel That Fire failed to produce a foal the following year when bred back to Bodemeister, but produced a Mineshaft filly Apr. 20 of this year. She visited Candy Ride (Arg) this spring.

Saturday, Saratoga
H. ALLEN JERKENS S.-GI, $500,000, Saratoga, 8-24, 3yo, 7f, 1:21.43, ft.
1–MIND CONTROL, 122, c, 3, by Stay Thirsty
1st Dam: Feel That Fire (SW, $147,280), by Lightnin N Thunder
2nd Dam: Ubetwereven, by French Deputy
3rd Dam: Raysor Lake, by Private Account
O-Red Oak Stable (Brunetti) and Madaket Stables, LLC; B-Red Oak Stable (KY); T-Gregory D. Sacco; J-John R. Velazquez. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 10-5-2-1, $805,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+.*** Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hog Creek Hustle, 124, c, 3, Overanalyze–Candy Fortune, by Candy Ride (Arg). ($150,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-Something Special Racing, LLC; B-Hargus and Sandra Sexton & Silver Fern Farm, LLC (KY); T-Vickie L. Foley. $100,000.
3–Shancelot, 122, c, 3, Shanghai Bobby–True Kiss, by Is It True. ($50,000 Ylg '17 FTSAUG; $245,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR). O-Ivan Rodriguez, Albert and Michelle Crawford; B-Charles Muth & Patrick Murphy (KY); T-Jorge Navarro. $60,000.
Margins: NO, NO, NK. Odds: 10.40, 10.50, 0.30.
Also Ran: Rowayton, Nitrous, Call Paul, Borracho, The Big S, Twelfth Labour.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.