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Mind Control takes next step towards Kentucky Derby in G3 Withers

by NYRA Press Office

• Derby hopeful Moretti will make stakes debut in Withers for Pletcher
• New York-bred Le General on target for Withers
• Morley looking to heat up during winter

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control, who captured the 149th running of the $150,000 Jerome on New Year's Day, will take his next step towards the Kentucky Derby in the Grade 3, $250,000 Withers, slated for Saturday, February 2 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Trained by Greg Sacco, the talented son of Stay Thirsty picked up 10 qualifying points for the Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs with his score in the one-mile Jerome, in which he set the early pace under Hall of Famer John Velazquez and outkicked a charging Our Braintrust, who will also return for the Withers, to earn a 1 1/2-length victory.

"He waits on horses a little bit. Our Braintrust ran a really nice race to be second and when he came to him in mid-stretch, Johnny tapped him a few times and he took off. I thought he galloped out nicely that day," said Sacco.

Mind Control graduated at second asking in a Monmouth Park maiden sprint, and then stepped forward with an impressive three-quarters of a length victory in the Grade 1 Hopeful on September 3 at Saratoga Race Course.

The colt endured a difficult trip in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, rallying from last of 13 to finish seventh. However, on New Year's Day at Aqueduct, the bay redeemed himself with an impressive front-running score.

The Withers will offer 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points as the second of four races on the New York path to the Derby which also includes the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham on March 9, offering 50-20-10-5 points and the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 6, which awards points on a 100-40-20-10 basis.

The Wood could also offer a $1 million purse if Mind Control or any other previous Grade or Group 1 winner is declared an official starter in the race.

While Sacco is based at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, Mind Control has stabled at Belmont Park since November, where the conditioner has 10 stalls overseen by Edward Owens, previously a longtime assistant for Joe Orseno.

On January 15, Mind Control breezed four furlongs in 49.77 seconds on the Belmont dirt training track in his first work back since the Jerome.

"He came out of the race in great shape. He had a nice maintenance work in 48 and change and galloped out in 1:01 and he's doing really well," said Sacco. "It's a beautiful facility and a great track to train on. Mind Control, and a couple others, have settled in nicely. We're really satisfied with the accommodations at Belmont and the training track there is in great shape, which is a great plus for any trainer."

Sacco, who has never had a Kentucky Derby starter, admits the excitement level is rising as the first Saturday in May draws closer.

"It's [the excitement level] pretty high. He's a neat horse to be around," said Sacco. "The Hopeful was really exciting and after the little mishap at the Breeders' Cup, where he just wasn't himself, he rebounded great in the Jerome. We're excited to see how far he will take us."

Although his Hopeful and Jerome scores were front-running efforts under Velazquez, Sacco said that the colt doesn't necessarily need to be on the lead as he looks to travel nine furlongs for the first time in the Withers.

"When he broke his maiden at Monmouth, he laid off a horse comfortably and then drew off. So, I don't think he has to be on the lead," said Sacco. "Just the way it set up in the Jerome, the outside horse [Souper Jackpot] wasn't gunning for the lead so Johnny just sat there. It was our intention if someone was gunning for the lead, to sit off and rate. He is rateable, it just depends how it sets up. We'll leave those decisions up to Johnny.

"The mile and an eighth is a test," continued Sacco. "You don't know if they can do it until they're in it, but the way he's trained, and the way he's galloped out in the mornings, doesn't give us the indication he won't be able to handle it."

Should the colt perform well in the Withers, Sacco said the Wood is the likely next stop on Mind Control's Derby path.

"One more work and if all goes well, we'll be in the gate for the Withers," said Sacco. "With the Wood jumping up to a million-dollar purse with him being a Grade 1 winner, if he were to pass the test in the Withers, the Wood would be the right spot prior to the Derby."

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Derby hopeful Moretti will make stakes debut in Withers for Pletcher

The well-bred Moretti, a $900,000 purchase at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, graduated impressively on December 20 over 1 1/8-miles on the Aqueduct main track for trainer Todd Pletcher and owners Repole Stable and Eclipse Thoroughbreds.

By Medaglia d'Oro and out of the Grade 1 winning mare Rigoletta, Moretti is a half-brother to 2017 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Battle of Midway.

"Medaglia d'Oro is a world-class stallion and being a half-brother to Battle of Midway, he has a real stallion's pedigree and that's what we're always looking for, hoping to develop horses to a stud career," said Pletcher. "He certainly has all the tools if he can continue his racing career in the right direction."

The Kentucky Derby hopeful, set to make his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Withers, finished second in his November 14 debut in a one-turn mile at the Big A.

Pletcher said the added distance played a big factor in Moretti's maiden win.

"The key was the mile and an eighth. We feel he's a horse that wants a route of ground and two turns. He's very well bred, and we thought it was a good effort," said Pletcher.

Velazquez, aboard for both of Moretti's starts, provided a couple reminders to the young colt who drifted out greenly late in the lane of his maiden win.

"He still seems like he's learning. When he made the lead, he waited a little bit but that's a sign, hopefully, that there's more in the tank," said Pletcher. "He's come back well and we're looking forward to stepping up to stakes company in the Withers and continuing his development."

While its all systems go for Moretti's Derby hopes, Pletcher also provided an update on the promising Sombeyay, winner of the Grade 3 Sanford on July 21 at Saratoga, who has been on the shelf since finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity on October 6 at Keeneland.

"He's doing fine. He just started back in training at my dad's training center in Ocala. I'd say he's a little late to the party to get on the Triple Crown scene, but hopefully we'll see him at Belmont in the spring," said Pletcher.

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New York-bred Le General on target for Withers

Le General won't have to travel far to compete in the Withers next month at Aqueduct. The Michelle Nevin trainee is stabled at the Big A and recorded his third workout on the track since defeating allowance company on December 9, breezing five furlongs in 1:03.92 on Wednesday.

The New York-bred Lemon Drop Kid colt ran second in his debut to Tales of Chaucer on June 1 at Belmont Park at five furlongs. Stretching to six furlongs, Le General broke his maiden in impressive fashion, besting Blindwillie McTell, who has gone on to win back-to-back stakes, by 6 ¾ lengths on November 17 at Aqueduct on a track labeled good.

On the same surface, Le General proved he could handle a fast track and a stretch out in distance, wiring a five-horse field by 3 ¼ lengths in a one-mile optional claimer victory over Pipes on December 9. Owned by Kallenberg Farms, Madaket Stables and James Covello, Le General will now be facing stakes company for the first time.

"So far, he's on course for the Withers. I'm really hoping he takes the next step," Nevin said. "He's just been very straightforward and hopefully he continues on that way."

The Withers, contested at 1 1/8 miles, is part of the "Road to the Kentucky Derby Series" offering 10 qualifying points to the winner, four for the runner-up, two for the third-place finisher and one point for fourth place for the Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

Purchased for $125,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select Sale, Le General is by Lemon Drop Kid, the 1999 Belmont Stakes winner and the 2000 Eclipse Award winner as Champion Older Horse.

Nevin said she is unsure if Le General will breeze one or two more times heading into the Withers, which counts famous horses such as Native Dancer, Jaipur, Dr. Fager and Ack Ack among its previous winners in the race's prior 138 runnings.

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Morley looking to heat up during winter

Trainer Tom Morley, whose horses earned more than one million dollars in earnings for the fifth consecutive year after initially going out on his own in 2013, is once again splitting his time during the winter, heading two divisions between Aqueduct and Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans.

Returning to the Bayou after spending his first winter in there in 2016, Morley said he is looking forward to another productive year.

"Life at Fair Grounds is going well," said Morley. "We've hit a bit of flat spot at the moment, but we're looking to finish the meet strong. I was just in New York over the past weekend, so I've been traveling back and forth, and we're pleased with how everyone is coming along."

Morley will send out graded stakes winner Silent Sonet for the first time since being transferred to his barn in next Friday's rescheduled $100,000 Interborough at Aqueduct. An Ivan Dalos homebred, Silent Sonet was previously campaigned by Nick Gonzalez at Woodbine, where she captured the Grade 3 Ontario Fashion on October 28.

The conditioner is excited to find out how the 5-year-old will handle dirt for the first time after competing on turf and Tapeta in Canada.

"She's an extremely classy horse," said Morley. "When she arrived from trainer Nick Gonzalez she was in great shape. We've had some previous success with her owner, Mr. Ivan Dalos, when I first started training, and he gave me a ring wanting to try her on the dirt while Woodbine was closed.

"We haven't asked her to do much in the mornings, which is by design," continued Morley. "We know she's fast and the idea is to see how she will run on the dirt. It's a possibility she may stay with us a little while longer through the spring depending how she takes to the surface, but we know she's a talented horse and we're excited to see how she'll run on Friday."

Morley also reported that Donegal Racing's graded stakes winner Carrick, who upset last year's Grade 1 Secretariat at Arlington Park at odds of 38-1 as a 3-year-old, is in good order and is looking forward for a solid campaign.

"Carrick has been doing well," said Morley. "We're looking forward to him pointing him back to the races for a productive year."