After Coming Down With Laminitis, Mentee Back On Track For Hopeful

Mentee (City of Light), the two-year-old full-brother to GI Travers Stakes winner Fierceness (City of Light), came down with laminitis after his winning debut on June 15 at Aqueduct. According to owner Mike Repole, who revealed the news on the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland, the situation was so severe that the colt is “lucky to be alive.”

However, Mentee recovered so well and so quickly that he is set to start in Monday's GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga.

Mentee broke his maiden by a nose, defeating another promising juvenile in Colloquial (Vekoma) in an effort that suggested he was well on his way to becoming a stakes winner. However, shortly after a July 7 workout at Saratoga, trainer Todd Pletcher caught the problem.

“He had a fever and when he got his fever it was from a puncture wound,” Repole explained. “(Trainer) Todd (Pletcher) caught it early. Thank goodness that he did because the horse had acute laminitis.”

Repole said that the colt spent 10 days at an equine clinic in Saratoga before returning to Pletcher's Saratoga barn.

“You know what, we are lucky that he is alive,” Repole said. “This could have went one way or the other. That's what laminitis does. Thank God Todd discovered this and got him to the doctors so quickly.”

Repole also gave credit to his assistant racing manager Danielle Bricker.

Mike Repole | Sarah Andrew

“Shout out to Danielle, who is amazing,” Repole said. “She slept in the stall with the horse for a couple of weeks. Maybe that helped get him back to where he is today. She went to visit him three times a day.”

Repole said that the problem is behind Mentee and that he has been sharp since being put back into training. He's had three drills since his return, the latest being a five-furlong work in 1:01 on Monday over the main track at Saratoga.

“It got a little nerve wracking, but he has rebounded really well. He's come back and had three good works, which is amazing. For him to rebound like he has, we feel great about that.”

Repole, who has owned numerous graded stakes winners, said this is a part of the sport that often gets ignored.

“This is the behind-the-scenes story that a lot of people don't see,” he said. “Sometimes they'll tell you, you retired a horse too early or you have to keep the horse around for the fans. They don't understand the stress and anxiety that Todd Pletcher, my team and myself wake up to every day. I'd wake up and ask Todd how Fierceness was doing before I would check on my wife and daughter. No disrespect to them, but they'd be sleeping, so I knew they were ok. There is a lot of stress, especially when you care as much as we do. And most owners and trainers are the same way. The horses are family. You feel the pressure for them to perform.”

Fierceness was last year's 2-year-old male champion. He has been inconsistent but appears to have gotten over that with back-to-back wins in the GII Jim Dandy S. and the Travers. He is expected to make his next start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.