Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Withers next for Mind Control
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Following a successful return to the races in Tuesday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes going one mile, Mind Control will likely attempt 1 1/8 miles for the first time in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct on Feb. 2, trainer Gregg Sacco said Wednesday.
Mind Control, who won last year’s Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga at seven furlongs, came out of his Jerome victory in good order, Sacco said Wednesday morning. The Jerome was Mind Control’s first start since he finished seventh, 18 1/4 lengths behind Game Winner, in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 2, a performance caused in part by a poor break and perhaps a temperature spiked upon his arrival to Louisville earlier that week.
Sacco doesn’t believe the Breeders’ Cup was a true indication of Mind Control’s ability to get two turns.
“I think he’ll handle it,” Sacco said. “He’s always galloped out really well, is strong in his [morning] gallops. He’s never acted like a sprinter to me. He has a lot of wind, a lot of stamina. Everything is a test, like a building block. My gut tells me he will handle it. You never know until you try, but even him getting a terrible break and not being himself in the Breeders’ Cup, he passed half the field in the stretch.”
Mind Control’s two biggest wins have come under John Velazquez and when the Hall of Fame rider has put him on the lead. It is unclear whether Velazquez will be able to ride Mind Control back in the Withers. Velazquez, based at Gulfstream, flew to New York on Dec. 20 to ride Withers candidate Moretti to a maiden victory going 1 1/8 miles for his main client, trainer Todd Pletcher. Also, there are five graded stakes at Gulfstream on Feb. 2 including the Holy Bull for 3-year-olds. The Holy Bull could be a spot for Code of Honor, whom Velazquez rides in Saturday’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream.
Sacco, who noted Wednesday he has already fielded calls from agents looking to ride Mind Control, said he would like to know approximately two weeks out whether Velazquez would be available to ride him.
“I certainly would like Johnny to stay on him if it works out,” Sacco said.
In the Jerome, after taking a slight bump in the rump from eventual runner-up Our Braintrust, Mind Control led throughout, taking some mild pressure from Souper Jackpot and then Gates of Dawn before turning back Our Braintrust in the final furlong to win by 1 1/2 lengths.
Mind Control ran a mile in a respectable 1:39.06 and earned a career-best 88 Beyer Speed Figure.
Tax, ‘Brady’ eyeing Withers
Among the horses Jerome Stakes winner Mind Control could face in the Withers are Tax and Not That Brady.
Tax, trained by Danny Gargan, finished third in the Remsen in his first start after being claimed Oct. 21 for $50,000 by Hugh Lynch and Lucas Stritsman, who races as Corms Racing. Since the Remsen, both Dean Reeves and Raymond Hill III bought part interest in Tax, Gargan said.
Coincidentally, Hill lost Not That Brady at the claim box for $50,000 in his career debut at Saratoga. Michael Imperio, Rudy Rodriguez, and Vincent Vivolo, who races under the banner Liana Stables, claimed the horse, who was trained by George Weaver.
After a disastrous debut – he was beaten 80 lengths – Not That Brady was second in a six-furlong maiden race then won a one-mile maiden race. On Monday, Not That Brady scored a three-length, frontrunning victory in the Damon Runyon Stakes for New Yorkbreds going a mile. He earned an 86 Beyer Speed Figure after running a mile in 1:40.68 over a sealed, good surface. He earned a 91 Beyer for his maiden victory.
“He’s a pretty strong horse,” Rodriguez, who trains Not That Brady, said. “When we claimed him from George he was doing everything right, but he was a little bit more mellow. Now we got to take him out with a lead shank because he wants to kick in the barn and everything. Before, anybody could gallop him. Now, he’s bigger and strong and more knows what he has to do.”
Some workers’ comp relief
Owners and trainers who race on the New York Racing Association circuit will get some relief when it comes their workers’ compensation insurance premiums, with a $250 reduction in their initial base payment for the policy that covers jockeys and exercise riders.
According to a press release issued by the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, owners and trainers will have to make an initial payment of $1,250 as opposed to $1,500, which had been the initial base payment the previous three years. It is expected that the second payment of $1,250 will be paid out of the NYRA purse account, pending the passage of legislation that has been passed in previous years.
Those who ship in to run at NYRA tracks will be charged $125 per start for their first 10 starts for a maximum cost of $1,250. The previous charge was $250 for their first six starts, for a total of $1,500.
An additional change was made to the fee schedule. The $72 flat fee charged for Saratoga has been eliminated, though trainers will still have to pay $1.60 per day for each stall allotted and accepted. That fee, the same as what is charged at Aqueduct and Belmont, will also be in place during the preand post-meet periods at Saratoga.
NYRA and NYTHA are still seeking ways to reduce the workers’ compensation premiums trainers must pay for their stable employees, costs trainers have said has spiraled out of control.