Aqueduct: Mentee wins Futurity, qualifies for Breeders’ Cup

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.”