Chelsea Durand Photo

Win Win Win wins $100K Manila

by NYRA Press Office

Live Oak Plantation's Win Win Win made his turf debut a winning one in Thursday's $100,000 Manila, rallying last-to-first in the one-mile trip for sophomores on a firm Widener turf at Belmont Park.

Trained by Michael Trombetta and piloted by Julian Pimentel, Win Win Win, who competed in two-thirds of the Triple Crown, settled at the back of the eight-horse field as Ian Glass shook clear of last-out Paradise Creek winner Pole Setter to mark the opening quarter-mile in 22.77 seconds.

Ian Glass continued a torrid pace, reaching the half-mile in 45.29 as Pole Setter advanced outside in second with Grade 1-winner Fog of War and a rail-riding Casa Creed waiting to pounce.

Fog of War, under Hall of Famer Javier Castellano, took command as the field straightened away with Casa Creed, under Junior Alvarado, looming large but a wide-rallying Win Win Win was moving best of all to swoop the field for a half-length score. Fog of War held place by a head over Casa Creed.

Clint Maroon, Pole Setter, Pulsate, Ian Glass and Gentleman Joe completed the order of finish. Current was scratched.

Pimentel was full of praise for Win Win Win, who breezed on the turf on June 23 at Laurel, before registering a stakes-record final time of 1:31.56.

"I mentioned to Mike that his work over the turf was very good. I was impressed with the way he moved over it that day and he showed it here again today and handled it pretty good," said Pimentel. "He's really matured. He used to be playful, but now he's gotten more focused on running. Today, he went easy. I had a ton of horse heading for home. I was just waiting to make my move. I had so many horses in front of me, but I was just biding my time. When we got in the clear, he took off."

Win Win Win, by Hat Trick out of the Smarty Jones mare Miss Smarty Pants, was precocious as a juvenile winning his first two starts on the Laurel Park main track, including a half-length off-the-turf maiden win, setting up a Triple Crown campaign.

After a win in the Pasco in January and a third in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby in March, Win Win Win rallied impressively to finish second in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland in April.

The dark bay was placed ninth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby following the disqualification of Maximum Security and last out ran an even seventh in the Grade 1 Preakness.

Trombetta said he was uncertain going into the Manila if the turf experiment would be successful.

"This was an experiment. I really didn't know how it was going to end," said Trombetta. "I did work him on it. He works decent on the synthetic and he worked OK on the turf at Laurel. It looked like he got over the ground well. We didn't put any pressure on him, but he handled it well and we were happy with him."

The Turf Trinity launches Saturday as part of the Stars & Stripes Racing Festival led by the Grade 1, $1 million Belmont Derby and while the second leg of the series - the $1 million Saratoga Derby slated for August 4 - looms a potential target, Trombetta said he wasn't ready to commit Win Win Win to turf yet.

"We wanted to see what it was all about and get him started, but we'll take him one race at a time," said Trombetta.

Bred in Florida by his owners, Win Win Win banked $55,000 in victory while improving his record to 4-2-1 from nine starts. He paid $10.20 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing resumes on Friday at Belmont with a nine-race card featuring the Grade 3 Victory Ride and the $100,000 River Memories. A two-day Pick 6 carryover of $165,302 begins in Race 4 at 3:08 p.m. First post is 1:30 p.m.