Mentee (City of Light), the full-brother to champion Fierceness who was the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's GIII Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, has been scratched, owner Mike Repole posted on X early Saturday morning.
“[Trainer] Todd [Pletcher] will be scratching Mentee from the Sanford,” Repole posted. “This morning at 4:15, Mentee's temperature was checked and unfortunately he has a fever of 102.2. This is very disappointing, but in this game it can always be a lot worse. I wish it would have been Todd or I with a 102.2 temperature instead of Mentee.”
Mentee was part of an entry favored at 1-2 on debut at Aqueduct June 15 and cut out a sharp pace after breaking from a high draw, carried a formidable advantage into the final furlong and just held on, a fact attributed to his inexperience, according to Pletcher. The 88 Beyer Speed Figure earned for that effort was tops in the Sanford field.
“It wasn't the way we wanted to start our morning,” Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning. “Welcome to Saratoga and training babies.”
Pletcher said one of the first warning signs given by Mentee was that he left some grain in his feed tub, something that is uncharacteristic of him. When the colt's temperature was taken, it came back 102.2 and Pletcher had no choice but to keep Mentee in the barn.
“It's frustrating,” he said. “It's frustrating. You hate to miss an opportunity like this, but it could be worse, I suppose.”
Pletcher said if Mentee is able to recover from this fever quickly, the next logical spot for him would be the $200,000 GII Saratoga Special Stakes on Aug. 10 at the Spa. That is run at 61/2 furlongs.
With the scratch, Tremont Stakes winner Studlydoright (Nyquist) and Three Echoes (Echo Town), third in the Tremont, should vie for favoritism.
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Todd will be scratching Mentee from the Sanford today.This morning at 4:15, Mentee's temperature was checked and unfortunately he has a fever of 102.2.
This is very disappointing but in this game it can always be a lot worse.
I wish it would have been Todd or I with…
— Repole Stable (@RepoleStable) July 13, 2024
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