“There is a real good bunch coming back, but how many of them are going to be top ones? I don’t know how many are going to be able to go [1]:47 or [1]:48 every week. Time will tell. It’s not going to be easy.”
Trainer Sam DePinto hopes We Will See is ready to see a return to the form that helped the pacer earn more than $1 million as a four-year-old.
Last season, at age five, We Will See battled a variety of woes – from a foot issue to bleeding to a virus – as he won two of 21 races and earned $433,780 for owners Shannon DePinto, Earl Smith and J&T Silva Stables. He was at his best during his first 10 starts, which included a victory in the Mohawk Gold Cup Invitational and second-place finishes in the Ben Franklin Pace and William Haughton Memorial Stakes.
On Tuesday, April 16, We Will See took his first step toward his 2013 debut by winning a qualifier in 1:54.4 at Harrah’s Philadelphia. He paced his final quarter-mile in :27.3, which was the only final quarter in less than :28-seconds among the day’s five qualifiers for pacers.
“He looks good,” DePinto said. “He’s feeling good; he’s got no issues at all. I think he’s going to have a nice year. There are so many good [horses] out there; I think the competition is going to be twice as tough. But I think he’s going to have a good year. He’s got everything going for him. He’s as sound as I’ve ever had him.”
As a three-year-old, We Will See won the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship, was second in the North America Cup and third in the Breeders Crown and Battle of the Brandywine.
The next season, he won 11 of 23 starts, including the Canadian Pacing Derby and Ben Franklin, and earned $1.23 million. His earnings were the second most ever for a four-year-old pacer, trailing only Mister Big’s $1.34 million in 2007.
“I stopped early with him [following the Breeders Crown in late October] otherwise he would have had a chance to top that,” DePinto said. “But it wasn’t about records, it was about the horse.”
This year, We Will See faces a loaded division that includes two-time defending Dan Patch Award winner Foiled Again, defending O'Brien Award winner Betterthancheddar, Bettor Sweet, Golden Receiver, and Aracache Hanover plus the expected arrival of many of last season’s top money-winners as three-year-olds: Michaels Power, Thinking Out Loud, Sweet Lou, A Rocknroll Dance, Heston Blue Chip, Pet Rock, Bolt The Duer, Dynamic Youth, Bettors Edge, Time To Roll, Dapper Dude, Our Lucky Chip, Breakin The Law, Panther Hanover, Mel Mara and Warrawee Needy.
“There is a real good bunch coming back, but how many of them are going to be top ones?” DePinto said. “I don’t know how many are going to be able to go [1]:47 or [1]:48 every week. Time will tell. It’s not going to be easy.”
DePinto hopes to see We Will See top $3 million in lifetime purses this season, which would put the horse among the top 14 money-winning pacers in history. We Will See entered this year at No. 33 on the money list. DePinto plans to qualify We Will See one more time at Harrah’s Philadelphia before sending him to the races.
“He deserves to have some foals out there, but I wanted to bring him back for another year,” DePinto said. “I think he’s got a little more something to prove.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.