Mind Control 'right on track' for Belmont's rescheduled Carter

After Mind Control won the Tom Fool (G3) at Aqueduct in March, trainer Greg Sacco said he would point the 4-year-old to the1 Carter Handicap (G1), then scheduled for April 4 at Aqueduct.

But then the coronavirus pandemic emerged, canceling the remainder of Aqueduct’s meet and postponing the start of Belmont Park’s. On Tuesday, Belmont released its amended schedule putting Mind Control back on course for the $250,000 Carter, a seven-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds and up that now will be run June 6.

“He’s right on track for the Carter,” Sacco said on Tuesday. “He’s training super since the Tom Fool, and he’s put in quite a string of steady works. His weight is great, attitude’s super, and we’re looking forward to the Carter.”

The win in the Tom Fool was the third consecutive score for the son of Stay Thirsty, following a January victory in the Toboggan Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct and an August win in the H. Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The Red Oak Stable homebred also won the Bay Shore Stakes (G3) last April at Aqueduct.

“He’s a really, really smart horse. He’s been smart from day one,” Sacco said. “He’s very in tune to what’s going on. He’s a pro – I use the word to describe him, he’s genuine, he’s a genuine horse. If we do our job, he takes care of the rest. If we bring him over there with the right mindset, going into the race, he turns it on and does the rest. He’s a really, really cool horse to work with.

“He’s a little of a man’s man type of horse – he acts like he’s mean, but he isn’t," Sacco continued. "If you play with him, he will nip you, but he’s not being mean, he’s a little bit of a roughhouser.”