Aqueduct: Mentee wins Futurity, qualifies for Breeders’ Cup

Photo:

NYRA / Adam Coglianese / Coglianese Photo

Repole Stable’s Kentucky homebred Mentee put his talents on
full display with a smart, 3 1/2-length win Friday in the Grade 3, $175,000
Futurity Stakes, a six-furlong, outer-turf sprint for 2-year-olds at Belmont at the
Big A.

In victory, Mentee earned a berth into the Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile Turf Sprint on Nov. 1 at Del Mar as part of the win-and-you’re-in challenge
series.

Click here for Belmont at Aqueduct entries and results.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Mentee became the
second graded-stakes winner for his dam Nonna Bella. He follows in the
footsteps of his older full brother Fierceness, winner of this year’s Travers
(G1) and the Eclipse Award as the 2023 champion 2-year-old. Mentee made his
turf debut in the Futurity but looked like a seasoned veteran as he stalked and
pounced to victory under Hall of Famer John Velázquez.

Pletcher said a half-mile work Sept. 20 in 49.68 seconds
over Saratoga’s Oklahoma turf training track was key in the decision to try the
son of City of Light on the grass.

“Some of the City of Lights handle the grass, and we thought
he had good action that would maybe take to it,” Pletcher said. “We breezed him
on it, and it looked like he really enjoyed it. We felt the timing and the
distance of this race suited him well, and it put us in a position to do about
anything from here. I think a lot of options open up.”

Mentee emerged sharpest of all from post 6 of seven, but it
was Júnior Alvarado-piloted Epitaph who was most eager for command, sprinting
clear to mark an opening quarter-mile in 22.38 seconds over the firm footing
with Mentee a half-length back in second.

Approaching the turn Joey Muscles raced four-wide move while
Under Who’s Rader advanced between him and the rail-skimming Pletcher trainee
Gate to Wire. Epitaph was game to the inside of Mentee, and Under Who’s Radar
spun his wheels in the center of the course after a half-mile in 45.36 seconds.
Well-measured Mentee was unleashed at the eighth pole and drew well clear of
the gutsy pacesetter, crossing the wire first with a final time of 1:08.82.

Gate to Wire, who angled outside Epitaph in the stretch,
came on late to collar that foe by a nose for place with Under Who’s Radar
rounding out the superfecta. In the Chase, I’m Otter Here and Joey Muscles
completed the finish in that order. Chasing Liberty, who is entered in the
Indian Summer on Sunday at Keeneland, was scratched.

Pletcher said he was pleased with the stalking trip Velázquez
engineered.

“He drew a favorable post to do that, and it looked like he
was very relaxed,” Pletcher said. “Johnny looked like he had a lot of horse the
whole way, and when he asked him, he responded well.”

Velázquez, who has ridden Mentee in each of his three
starts, said the colt’s performance Friday was redemptive after a distant sixth
last out in the Hopeful (G1) sprinting seven furlongs on the dirt Sept. 2 at
the Spa.

“That’s more of what we were expecting out of him,” Velázquez
said. “He broke pretty good, a little sharp and jumping a little bit the first
two jumps, and then I settled him, and he settled nicely. When the horses got
to him on the backstretch, he got a bit strong. I sat against him going to
the quarter-pole and made sure I kept him busy down the lane. Pretty easy,
though.”

Although Mentee earned a berth into the five-furlong
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Pletcher said he and owner Mike Repole were
more inclined to stretch him out to one mile for the Juvenile Turf instead.

“I’ll talk to Mike a little bit, but we actually talked
about it before, and we thought if he ran well, it would be a good bridge to
the mile instead of the five furlongs,” Pletcher said. “We’ll see.”

Pletcher also indicated the Juvenile Turf could be in play
for runner-up Gate to Wire.

“It looked like he just got untracked a little late, but he
closed well once he did,” Pletcher said. “It looked like he was bottled up and
maybe still a little immature. Once he finally got clear, he really closed on
well.”

Mentee banked $96,250 in victory while returning $10.20 on a
$2 win ticket. He adds to an impressive debut victory in June over the main
track at Aqueduct, where he set a course record for five furlongs in 56.97
seconds in a half-length score over Colloquial.

Gary Contessa, trainer of third-place finisher Epitaph, said
his colt will likely appreciate a cutback to five furlongs and potentially
firmer footing in the Juvenile Turf Sprint.

“If they’re willing to let him in, I’m going,” Contessa said
of the Breeders’ Cup. “That Del Mar course favors speed a lot more than this
one.”