Mind Control back in the zone in Jerome

OZONE PARK, N.Y. -- Mind Control rebounded from his poor showing in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and put himself on the Kentucky Derby trail with a professional, front-running 1 1/2-length victory in Tuesday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct.

Our Braintrust, winner of the Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park in June, finished second by four lengths over Family Biz. Gates of Dawn, Souper Jackpot, and Direct Order completed the order of finish.

The win was worth 10 qualifying points toward the May 4 Kentucky Derby for Mind Control, who first fueled Derby dreams when he won the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga last September.

But the fall was tough on Mind Control. First, he had to scratch from the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland in October after being diagnosed with a fever after shipping from New Jersey to Lexington. He then had another temperature when he first got to Churchill Downs for the Juvenile, a race in which he broke poorly and ultimately finished seventh, 18 1/4 lengths behind Game Winner.

Tuesday, Mind Control looked like he did in the Hopeful. In both races, Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez was on Mind Control and in both races, he took some early pace pressure before edging away to victory.

After taking a slight bump in his hind quarters from Our Braintrust shortly after the gates opened in the Jerome, Mind Control was put on the lead by Velazquez while kept five paths off the rail. Junior Alvarado had Souper Jackpot, the 2-1 second choice, in second, but three paths outside of Mind Control, who ran an opening quarter in 24.16 seconds.

“I wanted to put him in the race and make sure I was in a good position,” said Velazquez, who flew up from South Florida Tuesday morning for the ride. “If somebody goes crazy [on the lead] I’m just going to sit off the speed.”

Souper Jackpot moved a little closer to Mind Control as the two hit the far turn, but Mind Control still was able to run a half-mile in a comfortable 48.40 seconds.

Souper Jackpot and Gates of Dawn tried to sidle up next to Mind Control approaching the quarter pole, but Mind Control repelled their bids. A fresh challenge came from Our Braintrust, who, under Jorge Vargas Jr., got within a length of Mind Control inside the three-sixteenths pole. But Mind Control responded to Velazquez’s urging and edged clear.

“I remember from Saratoga, when he opens up he waits, so I kind of waited for them to come to him to get after him really hard and he responded really well,” Velazquez said.

Mind Control, a son of Stay Thirsty owned by Steven Brunetti’s Red Oak Stable and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, covered the mile in 1:39.06 over a drying track labeled good and returned $5 as the favorite.

The way Mind Control had been working, trainer Gregg Sacco figured his colt would be on the lead Tuesday. He was just happy to see him return to his summer form.

“He took the heat from [Souper Jackpot] down the backside. He was at his throatlatch the whole way and then [Our Braintrust] came to him at the eighth pole and he spurted away,” Sacco said. “Johnny said he was still green and learning. We were overwhelmed with his performance today. Of course when you run like that, it’s hard to fault the way he ran today.”

Vargas thought briefly Our Braintrust was going to reel in Mind Control, “but that horse in front responded,” Vargas said. “My horse took a shot, but couldn’t make it.”

Sacco plans to keep Mind Control in New York for the winter and said he would like to point him to the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers on Feb. 2, which would be his first start at 1 1/8 miles.