Mind Control the One to Beat in Jerome

As newly turned 3-year-olds look to jump on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the Jan. 1 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack is the first race of 2019 in the series and could provide a starting point for Red Oak Stable and Madaket Stables' Mind Control.

Winner of the Sept. 3 Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, Mind Control was originaly entered in the Oct. 6 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity (G1) but was scratched after spiking a fever.

Back for his next start in the Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 2 at Churchill Downs, the colt bobbled at the break but was able to improve his position from 13th to finish seventh. 

Trainer Greg Sacco said the son of Stay Thirsty  was hampered by a number of factors in Kentucky.

"It was a combination of things. He'd flown in for the second time, and, unfortunately, he didn't take the trip the way we would have liked," Sacco said. "Unlike the time we flew him in for the Futurity, he just wasn't himself for a day or two, but then he settled in nicely at Churchill and was back to himself. 

"It was very rainy there, and we really didn't do a lot with him," he continued. "It was a combination of him not being himself and then getting a terrible start and losing position in the race. We were happy to see him pass half the field in the stretch, but the main thing is he came out of the race very good."

Sacco said the horse "hasn't missed a beat" in training, and he looks forward to running him locally.

"After the Breeders' Cup, we weren't down on him," Sacco added. "We really knew that wasn't him, and he's really trained well. You don't know until you line them up in the gate again, but his weight is great and his coat is great, and the works have been exactly what we wanted. We're looking forward to a big effort on Tuesday."

At morning-line odds of 9-5, Mind Control will take on a field of five other males in the one-mile Jerome, which awards 10-4-2-1 points to the top four finishers toward entry in the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez will pilot Mind Control from post 3.

Cathal Lynch entrant Our Braintrust, a Maryland-bred colt the trainer owns in partnership with Stanton Smith Jr., is among the competition.

The Freud  colt won on debut May 3 at Laurel Park before taking the June 8 Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park over Sombeyay, who returned in his next start to win the Sanford Stakes (G3), and subsequent stakes winner Mae Never No. In his next and most recent start, Our Braintrust finished second in the Dec. 8 Maryland Juvenile Futurity back at Laurel after a six-month break.

Training at Laurel Park, Our Braintrust posted a bullet four furlongs Dec. 27, stopping the clock in :47 4/5. Prior to that, he breezed 1 1/8 miles Dec. 19 in 1:52 and posted a bullet five furlongs Nov. 30 in :59 3/5.

Jorge Vargas Jr. will ride Our Braintrust from post 4.

At morning-line odds of 2-1, Souper Jackpot brings a classy pedigree into the mix. The Ghostzapper  half brother to multiple graded stakes winner Awesome Slew  is trained by Mark Casse for Live Oak Plantation.

Souper Jackpot posted a half-length win in his second start Nov. 7 going six furlongs at Churchill and then returned to finish second by a neck in the Dec. 8 Smooth Air Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

"I haven't had him that long, but he's the barn favorite down in Florida, and it's apparent when you deal with him that he's pretty classy," said Casse's assistant Jamie Begg. "He's been to the training track at Belmont for the last two days. All the major work was done down in Florida, so he's ready to roll. We're just getting him over the training track here a little bit. He acts like a good horse."

Direct Order, Family Biz, and Gates of Dawn complete the entries for the Jerome.