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Mind Control on Track for Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's multiple Grade I winner Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) has been confirmed on target for the Nov. 6 GI Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile following a five-furlong work in 1:01.55 (7/19) over the training track at Belmont Park Friday.

“Mind Control put in an excellent solo breeze and galloped out strongly,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He finished out in 1:14.33, 1:27.09, and got the mile in 1:41.71. Mind Control will ship to California Oct. 31 to put in his final preparations for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.”

John Velazquez will have the mount in the Breeders' Cup, Red Oak Farm racing and operations manager Rick Sacco confirmed.

The day before his Breeders' Cup engagement, Mind Control's juvenile half-sister, Red Oak homebred Goddess of Fire (Mineshaft) will make her third lifetime start in the Tempted S. at Aqueduct.

“Goddess Of Fire is an improving filly and she should handle the added-distance races down the road,” said Sacco. “If the filly runs well in the Tempted S., we'll point her for the $250,000 [GII] Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct Dec. 4.”

Goddess Of Fire, a debut winner at Saratoga in August and most recently third in the GIII Pocahontas S., breezed a half-mile on the Saratoga training track Friday in :49.08 (8/45).

“Todd has been pleased with the filly's progression and he's been given the green light to take his time and let her mature at her own pace,” added Sacco.

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Mind Control Confirmed For Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile

Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stable's multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control, a determined winner (104 Beyer) of the $200,000 PARX Dirt Mile at Parx in Bensalem, Penn., on September 25, will make his next start in the $1,000,000 Grade 1 Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Saturday, Nov. 6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Rick Sacco, Racing & Operations Manager for Red Oak Farm, made the announcement after the 5-year-old son of Stay Thirsty – Feel That Fire worked five furlongs on the training track at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher in 1:01.46 on Friday, October 15.

“Mind Control put in an excellent solo breeze and galloped out strongly,” noted Pletcher. “He finished out in 1:14.33, 1:27.09, and got the mile in 1:41.71. Mind Control will ship to California on October 31 to put in his final preparations for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.”

Sacco added that regular jockey and Hall of Fame inductee John Velazquez has been engaged to ride the Red Oak Stable homebred Mind Control in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

Velazquez was in the saddle for Mind Control's hard-fought PARX Dirt Mile victory over 2021 Grade 1 Met Mile winner Silver State.

Silver Slate collared Mind Control and briefly took the lead in the stretch, but Mind Control fought back on the inside to win by a head while covering the mile in 1:36.59.

“He didn't give up, I didn't give up! When I asked for more, he gave me more,” Velazquez said after winning the race.

Mind Control will enter the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile with a record of 9 wins from 23 lifetime starts and career earnings of $1,413,229. His two Grade 1 wins came at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in the 2018 Hopeful and the 2019 H. Allen Jerkens, both run at seven furlongs.

Mind Control has made three starts at the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile distance, winning twice and finishing second once. The PARX Dirt Mile was around two turns as is the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar.

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Sacco informed that Mind Control's graded stakes-placed two-year-old half-sister Goddess Of Fire will make her third lifetime start in the $150,000 Tempted Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, N.Y., on Friday, November 5.

The Red Oak Stable (Stephen Brunetti) homebred by Mineshaft – Feel That Fire broke her maiden at first asking under John Velazquez in August at Saratoga. The bay filly followed up that winning effort with a third-place finish in the $300,000 Grade 3 Pocahontas at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on September 18.'

Red Oak's mare Feel That Fire is currently in foal to Uncle Mo and has a Candy Ride yearling filly that is currently being broke at Red Oak Farm.

“Goddess Of Fire is an improving filly and she should handle the added-distance races down the road,” said Sacco. “If the filly runs well in the Tempted Stakes, we'll point her for the $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (Grade 2) at Aqueduct on December 4.”

Goddess Of Fire breezed a half-mile on the Saratoga training track on Friday, October 15 in :49.08. “Todd has been pleased with the filly's progression and he's been given the green light to take his time and let her mature at her own pace,” added Sacco.

“These are exciting times for the Red Oak Farm team and we look forward to racing Goddess Of Fire in the Tempted at Aqueduct on November 5 and watching Mind Control on the racing industry's biggest stage in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on November 6 at Del Mar,” Sacco concluded.

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Red Oak Stable to Offer Unbridled Mo’s First Foal at Fasig Saratoga

The first foal out of Grade I winner Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo) is one of 210 yearlings catalogued for the 100th renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, which will be held Aug. 9 and 10 at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. The inclusion of the colt by Quality Road (hip 15) in the catalogue reflects a new business strategy for the Brunetti family's Red Oak Stable, which bred, not only the yearling, but also his multiple graded-stakes winning dam.

“Mr. [John] Brunetti, Sr. passed in March of 2018 and his son Steven Brunetti has taken over the breeding and racing operation,” explained Red Oak's racing manager Rick Sacco. “So we are looking at selling about 20% of what we breed every single year. It's just a financial decision and one that we think is prudent.”

Red Oak Stable is now being run by a third generation of Brunettis. The stable has it origins with Joseph Brunetti, who began buying horses in the 1950s. And, following his death, it was taken up by his son John, who purchased Hialeah Park in 1977. His sons John, Jr. and Steven have focused on different facets of the industry, with John handling much of the casino operations and Steven taking over much of the breeding and racing interests.

Under this new business model, Red Oak got into the sales arena at last month's Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearling Sale. The operation sold a filly by Munnings (hip 223) for $200,000. The yearling had been purchased earlier this year for $100,000 at the Keeneland January sale.

While he expects most of the farm's foals to be offered as yearlings, Sacco said the plan remains fluid.

“We do have a filly earmarked for the 2-year-old sales,” Sacco said. “A Candy Ride (Arg) filly who is a half to [Grade I winner] Mind Control that we will be selling in next year's sale cycle. We haven't determined where yet, but she's a really outstanding filly.”

The Red Oak broodmare band currently has about two dozen head.

“Right now we are up to 24,” Sacco said. “We are supporting a stallion in New York right now, King for a Day. But we are not going to get higher than that.”

The 8-year-old Unbridled Mo took her place in the Red Oak broodmare band in 2018 following a racing career in which she won four graded stakes races, capped off by a victory in that year's GI Apple Blossom H. She also won the 2016 GIII Monmouth Oaks and 2017 GIII Doubledogdare S. and GIII Houston Ladies Classic and was third in the 2018 GI Ogden Phipps S. On the board in eight of 12 starts, she won seven times and earned $1,067,880.

The Brunettis purchased Unbridled Mo's dam Unbridled Waters (Unbridled) for $155,000 at the 1999 Fasig-Tipton Florida March Sale. She won four of 16 starts and earned $128,640. In addition to Unbridled Mo, she produced graded stakes winner Unbridled Essence (Essence of Dubai).

Sacco admitted if the mare's first foal had been a filly, she would likely not be for sale, but the racing manager has been impressed by what he has seen of the colt, who is consigned to the Saratoga sale by Hunter Valley Farm.

“He is an outstanding individual, he's a beautiful colt,” Sacco said. “He has a lot of Unbridled Mo in him. He's a long, athletic colt and very correct. He showed very clean with the pictures that we took on the farm and he has a Grade I scope. We're very pleased with him physically. He just really started to mature in a big way in the last month and change.”

Unbridled Mo did not have a foal in 2021, but she is currently in foal to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

While shoppers can expect to see 20% of the Red Oak foal crop at auction, the operation will still be well-represented at the racetrack. The Red Oak colors were recently carried to victory by Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) in the GII John A Nerud S. The 5-year-old has scored top-level successes in the 2018 GI Hopeful S. and GI H. Allen Jerkens S. The stable has also been represented this summer by first-out maiden-winning juveniles Wand of Power (First Samurai) and Boss Lady Kim (Street Boss).

“We want to have at least 20 horses that are out with trainers,” Sacco said. “We have horses with Todd Pletcher, we have horses with my brother Greg Sacco on the Jersey Shore, and Brad Cox has a couple for us also at Keeneland. We want to enjoy the racing end of it. And of course we are maintaining two farms in Ocala, Red Oak and Good Chance Farm, our training center. So we are just trying to make some prudent business moves to offset some expenses by selling some of the higher-end horses.”

After a year's absence due to the pandemic, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale returns next Monday with bidding scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.

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After ‘Dog-Fight’ Triumph Over Firenze Fire, Mind Control To Target Forego

Rick Sacco of Red Oak Stable, which owns Mind Control in partnership with Madaket Stables, said the multiple Grade 1-winner was bright eyed and happy on Monday following a redemption victory in Sunday's Grade 2, $250,000 John A. Nerud at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., where he denied horse-for-course Firenze Fire an eighth victory over Big Sandy.

Making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, the Stay Thirsty bay ended an 0-for-6 slump, battling to the outside of Firenze Fire down the backstretch, ultimately getting the better of his foe by a head. Mind Control, who was reunited with Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, replicated a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure garnered in his previous victory in the Grade 3 Tom Fool in March 2020 at Aqueduct.

Mind Control arrived at the Nerud, a “Win and You're In” qualifier to the Breeders' Cup Sprint in November at Del Mar, off a close seventh in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs on May 1 for his former conditioner Gregg Sacco. Mind Control finished second to Mischevious Alex in his 2021 bow in the Grade 1 Carter on April 3 at the Big A.

Sacco said the seven-furlong Grade 1, $600,000 Forego on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course would likely be the next target. Both of Mind Control's previous Grade 1 scores came in seven-furlong events at the Spa, capturing the 2018 Hopeful and 2019 H. Allen Jerkens.

“The Forego is our plan,” Sacco said. “When the horse was turned over to Todd, I told him that we wanted to point to yesterday's race. I knew that would give him enough time to acclimate to Todd's program.

“He came out of it awesome,” Sacco added. “He jogged super this morning and he was bright eyed, so now he'll ship up to Saratoga, get freshened and they'll get him ready for the Forego.”

Mind Control, bred in Kentucky by Red Oak Stable, is out of the Lightnin N Thunder mare Feel That Fire.

“The win means so much to Red Oak because we own the mare Feel That Fire, and we own her mother [Ubetwereven] as well,” said Sacco. “We have such nice foals out of these two mares in the pipeline, so when Mind Control wins, it means a lot to the operation.”

Sacco said Mind Control encountered considerable barriers during his 2020 campaign, including a couple of sloppy tracks. He was a distant sixth and eighth over off going in the Grade 1 Runhappy Carter and last year's Forego, respectively.

“For him to win after so many losses in a row was great. It was a tough campaign last year,” Sacco said. “You train for so long and hit a couple of sloppy tracks. After the first time he ran in the slop, he disliked it. At Saratoga, it was slop again. Two times in his career, he had really sloppy tracks, but you're always working around the weather and working around getting them in the best possible condition. Last year was very tough. We didn't have the type of campaign we wanted to have.”

Sacco said the post-position draw may have played in favor of Mind Control, who exited post 2 Sunday to the outside of Firenze Fire.

“Todd, John and myself knew that Firenze Fire was going to go from the rail,” said Sacco. “There were others that showed good speed, but not of our quality. Johnny said he wasn't going to let the horse get away from him, and that if we got away clean, we were going to apply the pressure. He's a fighter and he doesn't lose those dog-fight type of races.”

Mind Control has a 2-year-old half-sister by Mineshaft named Goddess of Fire, who also will be trained by Pletcher.

“She breezed this morning at Saratoga in what was her second breeze for Todd,” Sacco said. “She has a good foundation underneath her and is a beautiful filly. Mind Control is a medium sized horse and will make a good stallion prospect. He is very correct and well-balanced. She's a great big filly, so I'm sure Todd will take his time with her.”

Despite the differences in conformation, Sacco said Mind Control and Goddess of Fire both display the same professional demeanor.

“Mind Control is very straight forward. You tack him up, he wants to go do his business and not be fooled around with,” Sacco said. “The family is straightforward in the same manner. The whole time we had her on the farm, she just wanted to train and do her business. Both are very businesslike.”

Feel That Fire has a yearling by Candy Ride and is currently in foal to Uncle Mo.

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