Guided person His pace was as good as advertised, if not better, in his June 15 debut. Repole Stable-bred, half-brother to 2023 champion 2-year-old male severity led in every call and burned five furlongs in record time in the seventh race at Water racetrack.
MENTEE, 2YO son of @LanesEndFarms The City of Lights stallion, and full brother to FIERCENSE, just held on to his first place in the seventh race under @ljlmvel because @PletcherRacing. pic.twitter.com/evqw6GAxtF
— NYRA (🌳) (@TheNYRA) June 15, 2024
Exploding from the far outside post under John Velazquez, Mentee cleared the field from the start and scored with initial scores of :22.37 and :44.80. Holding a clear advantage in lane, the speed testing began to take its toll City of light colt, and despite a late waver he kept the nose short on the fast closing track Vekoma colt Normally .
Mentee, reduced to 1-2 odds as part of a combined entry with Todd Pletcher-trained stablemate move , stopping the clock at :56.97 on the fast main track. The previous record was :57 set by Bazaar in 1963.
“We knew he was going to be fast,” Velazquez said. “He’s pale and maybe I should stick around more to make sure he’s focused on his work. He reminds me of my brother.”
Velazquez has partnered Fierceness in both of his Grade 1 wins, including this year’s Florida Derby (G1).
“Five long pulls, record,” said Mike Repole in a phone call to BloodHorse from Italy. He took the outside position. He has run the longest distance since then.” “You have to put all of that into perspective. He has a slightly different body than Fierceness. He’s bigger and maybe a little more compact. Maybe he’s more like a seven-eighth, miler. Let’s see what happens when he grows up, but we know he’s fast.
“There’s so much talent there, it’s exciting to see.”
“The stallion Nonna Bella is also pretty special. She’s named after my grandmother and I’m currently in Italy. It’s a wonderful horse family.”
As a second generation purebred Repole breed, Mentee is produced from Thirsty mare Nonna Bella . The grade 1 mare Nonna Mia currently has a young stallion about 1 year old. Caravaggio and weaning Uncle Mo pony. Repole reports that Nonna Mia will be bred to curled up .
Mentee followed in the footsteps of his 3-year-old sibling in scoring on his first try. Last summer, Fierceness graduated 11 1/4 lengths in Saratoga Race Course debuted en route to a campaign that saw him dominate the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and take home the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male.
Repole indicated that the $175,000 Sanford Stakes (G3) on July 13 at Saratoga would be considered for the Mentee.
