Trainer Mike Trombetta had only one word to describe the deep-closing victory from Win Win Win over sloppy going in Saturday's Grade 1, $500,000 Forego at Saratoga: Unbelievable.
Owned by Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation, the Florida homebred was last, more than 16 lengths off the pace and nine wide at the quarter pole, before splashing home to victory with a powerful turn of foot to make the grade in the prestigious seven-furlong event.
After Win Win Win competed on the Triple Crown trail last year and recently tried turf, Trombetta said he entered the colt in the seven-furlong Forego with the goal of replicating the Hat Trick colt's track-record setting performance in last year's Pasco at seven furlongs on the Tampa Bay Downs main track, where he stopped the clock in 1:20.89.
"It worked out really well. It seemed like he came out of it in pretty good shape," Trombetta said.
A next start has yet to be decided for Win Win Win, who is a stakes winner on both dirt and turf. In the final start of his sophomore campaign, he won his turf debut in the Manila in July 2019 at Belmont Park. He made his first start since such effort in the First Defence, where he was 10th but made amends when finishing a good second to eventual Forego runner up Complexity going a one-turn mile over the main track at Belmont Park.
"I'll talk with the ownership and try to map out a plan for him for the rest of the season," Trombetta said. "With him, there are options. We're a little limited because he's one of those middle-distance types of horses. In a perfect world, you find seven-eighths racing for him and there isn't as much of it as you would like. We'll have to figure out where he fits in the big picture."
Win Win Win is the third offspring out of the late Smarty Jones mare Miss Smarty Pants, whose two other progeny were winners. His granddam was stakes winner Devotion Unbridled who produced Unbridled Humor — a two-time turf stakes winner on the NYRA circuit.
Trombetta was extra pleased to see Win Win Win run so well in such unfavorable circumstances.
"I think he's one of these kinds of horses that can deal with just about whatever you throw at him for the most part," said Trombetta. "He's won on the turf; he's won on dry track; and now he's won on this kind of track. He can play the cards any way that they're dealt to him."
