Mind Control's first crop make up big chunk of F-T Saratoga fall sale

When Mind Control went to stud in New York in 2023, he was not only one of the most accomplished stallion prospects to retire directly to the state in recent years, he had the crucial support of major outfits behind him.

On Tuesday, Mind Control has 23 first-crop weanlings and nine mares in foal cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale, meaning he has a hand in more than 10 percent of the catalog – dramatic representation for a young stallion.

Mind Control won 10 stakes for Stephen Brunetti’s Red Oak Stable and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stable, including Grade 1 triumphs at 2 in the Hopeful, at 3 in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial, and as an older horse in the Cigar Mile. Retiring with more than $2 million in earnings, he arrived at Rockridge Stud in Hudson to stand as the property of Rockridge, Irish Hill Farm, Dutchess Views Stallions, Hidden Lake Farm, and Waldorf Farm, all major New York operations, as well as Red Oak and Madaket.

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That coalition assured that Mind Control would get crucial early support in both quality and quantity of mares. Rockridge’s owner Lere Visagie said that the development of the partnership provided a “phenomenal opportunity to make him the most successful stallion to ever stand in the state.”

It will be several years before Mind Control’s progeny are racing and those predictions can be evaluated, but so far, so good. Mind Control covered 190 mares in his debut season in 2023, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred, a stellar number for a New York stallion and making him by far the busiest stallion outside of industry hub Kentucky. Although the number dropped from his first to his second year, a normal curve for a young stallion, he still bred a healthy 123 mares in 2024.

Fasig-Tipton has cataloged 315 entries for this single-session saleat the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, down the block from Saratoga Race Course.

“The New York-bred program is as vibrant as ever, evidenced by the strength of our recent New York-bred yearling sale this summer,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr., said in a release. “With $65 million distributed annually in purse money, incentives, and awards for New York-breds, there has never been a better time to invest in the program.”

Mind Control’s strong group of weanlings at this sale are led by a colt out of stakes-placed Yankee Victoria, dam of Shang Shang Shang, who won the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. The group also includes a half-brother to New York Oaks winner Caldwell Luvs Gold; half-siblings to stakes winner Maiden Beauty and stakes-placed Hannah’s Smile; and weanlings out of stakes winner Maid of Heaven and stakes-placed Lula’s Roadrunner and Princess Phoebe.

The 2023 Saratoga mixed sale finished with 157 horses sold for $4,597,200, compared to 142 sold for $4,599,700 in 2022. While the average price, $29,282, dropped 10 percent, the median was unchanged at $20,000. The buyback rate was 35 percent, compared to 22 percent.

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