Mentee Changes Course in Futurity Stakes

Mentee , the full bother to 2023 2-year-old champion male Fierceness  who set a track record in his debut, changes course Oct. 4 when he tries the turf for the first time in the $175,000 Futurity Stakes (G3T) at the Belmont at the Big A fall meeting.

A Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race, the winner of the Futurity will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip and a guaranteed starting slot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.

In the beginning of summer, Mentee appeared to be an heir apparent to older bother Fierceness when he blazed to an electrifying first-out score for owner/breeder Repole Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher. Carving out blistering fractions on the front end, the son of City of Light   never let up and blazed the five furlongs in :56.97, lowering the 61-year-old track record.

From there, things didn't go according to plan. Repole had reported that Mentee had developed a case of laminitis in both of his front feet that forced him to the clinic for 10 days. The colt recovered by the end of summer, but dreams of repeating his sibling's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) glory soon vanished with his disappointing sixth-place finish in the Sept. 2 Hopeful Stakes (G1).

Mentee, to be ridden by John Velazquez in Friday's race, will be looking for a fresh start on the lawn. He breezed a half-mile in :49.68 over Saratoga Race Course's Oklahoma training turf course Sept. 20.

"He's very versatile from what we've seen," Pletcher said. The Hall of Fame conditioner noted that Mentee was built more compact and "speedier" than Fierceness, who Pletcher also trains. "He trained well leading into his debut and ran great on the dirt. We just thought some of the City of Lights seem to take to the turf so we gave him a little breeze on it and he seemed to take to it. The timing and the distance should suit him well."

Pletcher will also saddle Donegal Racing's Gate to Wire , a debut winner going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf at Saratoga Aug. 30. Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride the Munnings   colt.

Chasing Liberty  and Under Who's Radar , the 1-2 finishers in $872,500 Juvenile Sprint Stakes Sept. 1, renew their rivalry in the Futurity after an electric battle to the wire at Kentucky Downs. The Michael Maker-trained Under Who's Radar had led at every call before ducking out into Chasing Liberty in the final furlong and was disqualified to second after crossing the line ahead of that rival.

beautiful love tackles brown duo in Waya

Later on the card, the 3-year-old Beautiful Love  will take on older rivals in the 1 3/8-mile Waya Stakes (G3T).

In her most recent outing, the Godolphin homebred rallied from 17 lengths off the pace to capture the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T) at the Big A. It was the second stateside start for the daughter of Siyouni , who scored decisively by 1 1/2 lengths over the same Waya trip.

Joel Rosario will ride the filly for trainer Charlie Appleby, who gets in with four pounds less than 126-pound race high weights McKulick  and Idea Generation .

Chad Brown trains both McKulick, a millionaire and last year's Waya winner, and Idea Generation, a front-running victress of the Flower Bowl Stakes (G2T) last time out at Saratoga.