Control Group totally controls Discovery Stakes

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Light on entries, New York Racing Association stakes coordinator Andrew Byrnes called trainer Rudy Rodriguez on Wednesday to see if he might want to supplement Broken Engagement to the Grade 3 Discovery Stakes for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct. Rodriguez said he didn’t think that horse was a good fit for a nine-furlong race, but he had another horse in mind.

So, Rodriguez got owners Michael Dubb and David Simon to supplement the New York-bred Control Group to the Discovery. On Saturday, Control Group was in total control throughout under Joel Rosario and rolled to a front-running, three-length victory as the 5-2 favorite in the $200,000 Discovery.

Senior Investment, the lone graded stakes winner in the field entering the race, rallied to finish second by 8 1/4 lengths over Bonus Points. Can You Diggit, Spieth, and True Timber completed the order of finish.

The win was the fourth from his last five starts for Control Group, a son of Posse who three races back won a $35,000 claimer at Saratoga. His previous two wins came in allowance races at Finger Lakes. Most recently, Control Group finished second to Twisted Tom in the Empire Classic at Belmont Park.

“He loves two turns, that’s the key,” Rodriguez said.

Breaking from the outside post in a six-horse field, Control Group was hustled to the front by Rosario. He entered the first turn on even terms with True Timber. Rosario had the option to let True Timber go and sit second, but he decided instead to clear that rival.

Control Group opened a 1 1/2-length lead after running an opening quarter in 24.05 seconds and widened his advantage after a half-mile in 48.52, and six furlongs in 1:13.29, after which he had a four-length lead. While Rosario seemed to have Control Group going easy, the riders on the other horses were in a drive. Control Group had a five-length lead at the eighth pole and settled for a three-length victory.

Control Group covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.83 and returned $7.40.

“On the turn I had to make a decision to take back or go,” Rosario said. “I let him go and improve his position. After he took the lead he was relaxed.”

Rodriguez said he was comfortable with the early fractions and by the three-eighth pole “I thought he looked very, very good.”

Rodriguez said had he not run Control Group in the Discovery he was considering next weekend’s Claiming Crown at Gulfstream Park or just waiting for the Alex M. Robb Handicap here on Dec. 31. The latter is now the likely next start for Control Group.

By then, perhaps Rodriguez would have cooled off. But for now he is white hot, having won 18 races from 52 starters at the meet, including six wins over the last three days. Chad Brown is second with eight wins from 51 starters.

“Maybe pinch me,” said Rodriguez, who has a large number of horses training at Aqueduct. “ We’re training at home; horses they don’t ship out too much and I get a chance to school them and bring them over here.”