Long in the Making, Hopeful Win a Family Affair

[Wandering Eyes]

Thanks in large part to its insular nature, horse racing is an institution with deep family traditions. It’s pretty difficult to enter the game on your own and create a legacy, so when one does, it makes sense that they would want to pass that legacy on to the next generation in their lineage. Those who share our blood and name are most likely to feel the connection to and pride in our heritage of racing. Clans like the O’Briens at Ballydoyle, the Hancocks at Claiborne and the Farishes at Lane’s End come to mind. But every size of track or farm has incumbent racing families trying to keep the torch burning in their corner of the world.

John Brunetti, Sr. and Bill Sacco made their mark in the sport independently way back in the 1940s and ’50s. Brunetti as an owner in the sunshine of South Florida and Sacco as a trainer in the quiet shore towns of New Jersey. Over a half-century later, their names live on through their sons, and Monday, those sons accomplished something which confirmed, unlike anything else has, that all the sacrifices of their predecessors were made in service of a truly meaningful legacy.

In 2015, Red Oak Stable, the brainchild of Brunetti now run by his sons Steve and John, Jr., paired their homebred stakes winner Feel That Fire to Stay Thirsty, and the result was a stocky colt by the name of Mind Control. When it was time for him to head to racetrack training, the Brunettis did what they usually do with their babies: gave him to longtime friend of the family Greg Sacco, son of Bill. Monday at Saratoga, the crew, effectively part of the same ancestry now, shipped their colt up to Saratoga, where he pulled off a 10-1 upset in the most prestigious 2-year-old race outside of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the Hopeful. It was the first Grade I win for the Sacco family. To do it, the small stable had to knock off heavily-favored Bill Mott ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mucho (Blame), as well as runners from the Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen and Mark Casse barns.

“I’ve won a lot of stakes and a couple graded stakes, but a Grade I is elusive and is always a goal for a trainer,” Sacco said less than 24 hours after the pinnacle of his career thus far. “It’s tough to win one, so it was gratifying. It’s difficult at Saratoga, because it’s the creme de la creme of trainers, horses, jockeys, and they all converge there every meet. It’s a competitive place, it always has been and it’s getting tougher with the outfits that have 200 horses. Whether it’s a claiming race or anything, they have the numbers, so it’s very, very tough. It’s an historic place and winning a race there is an accomplishment. Winning a Grade I there is almost beyond your wildest dreams.”

Mind Control debuted July 5 at Delaware and ran a good second at 13-1, beaten 2 1/4 lengths while finishing 13 1/2 lengths clear of the third finisher. Then, two results on Aug. 12 set in motion a path to the Hopeful for the bay. First, Mind Control took care of business with a convincing three-length graduation back home at Monmouth. Then, a few hours later, Call Paul (Friesan Fire), who beat him in his debut, returned to capture the GII Saratoga Special S.

“When Call Paul came back and won the Saratoga Special, that was flattering,” Sacco said. “And the way we won, it was a small field, but the way he did it and the way he galloped out that day was most impressive. He went 1:09 3/5, drew off at the end and galloped out really strong. Subsequently, he came back right after that race and worked really, really super last week. He went a little faster than we wanted, but worked great and galloped out strong and came out of the work great. We could’ve run in the Sapling at Monmouth, but we felt that he’s special and deserved a shot at the Hopeful. We knew it was tough going in, we knew Mucho was the horse to beat and there were some other talented horses–Mark Casse’s horse was preparing for that race for a couple months off his Churchill maiden win–but we felt we belonged, and Mind Control proved us right.”

According to Sacco, the horse’s name fits him, as he has always been a fast learner whose discipline and intelligence, as much as his talent, has allowed him to progress into a Grade I winner.

“He’s never been precocious in the way of wanting to go, go, go,” Sacco said. “The thing about him is he’s so smart. We shipped him to Delaware that day and you never know how you’re going to ship–it was a hot day and he just took everything in like a pro, and in his training, he does everything you ask of him. He can accelerate, decelerate, he’s very easy to train and he has gears. All horses don’t have gears. He’ll work in :50, but he can gallop out in 1:01 if you just smooch to him. He’s a beautiful horse, medium-sized, doesn’t have any wasted energy and acts like an older horse. Almost like an old soul. For a 2-year-old, he’s got it all going for him.”

Sacco has been training for the Brunetti family for over 25 years, and has known them for much longer, with John Brunetti, Sr. being a longtime friend of Bill Sacco despite never having horses with him. Greg was given a few to train for Red Oak in the early 1990s, the best of which was Enjoy the Silence (Valid Appeal), who was the first horse Steve Brunetti picked out at auction.

“He was a six-time stakes winner and that was our initiation, but Mr. Brunetti was a staple to me, a man I held in high regard even when I wasn’t training for him,” Sacco said. “He and his sons were my biggest supporters over the years and my relationship with them is very close. I work for them, but we’re dear friends and Mr. Brunetti was almost like a second dad to my brother and me.”

Brunetti was best known for buying and keeping storied Hialeah Park in business for decades despite the constant threat of being bought out by developers that comes with owning any large plot of land in South Florida. That persistence and dedication to the long-serving home of racing in the region particularly drew Sacco’s admiration.

“I always loved Hialeah and knew that he basically had saved Hialeah, because it was going to be demolished if he didn’t come along and buy it,” he said. “There are a lot of variations to the story with that, but they were going to demolish it. So he kept Hialeah alive for another almost 25 years, from ’77 to 2000. He knew it was a losing battle geographically going into it.”

It was an emotional scene in the winner’s circle Monday at Saratoga for Sacco, his brother Rick, who runs Red Oak’s operation in Ocala, and the Brunettis. It took on greater significance given that the elder Brunetti passed away in March at the age of 87, fittingly the same age as Bill Sacco when he died in 2009.

“It was a great feeling with my friends, family and Steve and his family there,” Sacco said. “The only thing missing was Mr. Brunetti. It would’ve been unbelievable for him to be there, but I’m sure he was there with us in spirit and I’m sure he’s proud of John and Steve for carrying on the tradition.”

Just as surely, Brunetti and Bill Sacco would’ve been plenty proud of Greg too.

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