Chelsea Durand Photo

Mind Control surges late to upset G1 H. Allen Jerkens presented by Runhappy

by Jon Forbes

Mind Control made a determined rally to win the Grade 1, $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens presented by Runhappy in a four-way photo on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

Backed as the 10-1 second choice in the field of nine, Mind Control settled in the clear in third as 3-10 favorite Shancelot set moderate fractions of 23.15 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.58 for the half in the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds.

Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez put Mind Control to a drive inside the quarter pole, and the Stay Thirsty colt moved in unison with Hog Creek Hustle and Rowayton to reel in Shancelot and got his nose down on the wire to defeat Hog Creek Hustle by a nose. It was an additional nose back to Shancelot, who held off Rowayton by a neck for third.

Mind Control returned $22.80 for a $2 win wager and completed seven furlongs in 1:21.43 on the fast main track. Gregory Sacco trains Mind Control for Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable.

"I really didn't know if I had it," said Velazquez. "I got beat twice on the wire here, and I didn't want to jinx myself. [Greg] asked me, and I said, 'I don't think I got it. [But] let's see what happens.'"

Mind Control was racing at Saratoga for the first time since winning the Grade 1 Hopeful last September in his third start. He opened his 3-year-old campaign with three starts at Aqueduct Racetrack, winning the Jerome in January, finishing third in the Grade 3 Gotham in March, and capturing the Grade 3 Bay Shore in April. In his two most recent outings, he was eighth in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens in June at Belmont Park and third as the 2-5 favorite in the Concern Stakes on July 14 at Laurel Park.

"His last two trips were so brutal," said Sacco. "The Woody Stephens was a nightmare. My brother picked out a great spot for him in Maryland and it wasn't really a step down. He wanted the six weeks and he thought the [Grade 2] Amsterdam [on July 28 at Saratoga] would be a tough heat and it turned out to be an unbelievable heat, and he didn't want a month back. This was the race we were pointing for since the Woody, all summer. We wanted him in peak performance. He's a gutsy horse. I can't say enough about him and about my staff and the way they prepared him."

Overall, Mind Control is 5-2-1 in 10 starts. He has earned $805,000 to date, including $275,000 for his Jerkens victory.

Nitrous finished fifth and was followed by Call Paul, Borracho, The Big S, and Twelfth Labour.