Win Win Win Rains from the Clouds to Steal Forego

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – As the clouds poured from above the track, Live Oak Plantation homebred Win Win Win came raining down with a strong last-to-first rally to steal Saturday’s $300,000 Forego Stakes Presented by America’s Best Racing (G1) at Saratoga.

Sent from post 7 under Javier Castellano at 7/1 odds, Win Win Win trailed way back in the early running and watched as Complexity and True Timber dueled heads apart through fractions of :22.28 and :44.63.

Still several lengths back in last as he straightened for home, Win Win Win was steered almost all the way to the outer rail in order to remain in the clear and avoid his rivals’ kickback.

Sweeping past every rival in the stretch like he was running on an entirely different track, Win Win Win took command away from Complexity inside the 1/16 pole and was past him in a flash, crossing a 1/2-length clear.

The Mike Trombetta trainee completed the 7-furlong sloppy (sealed) main track sprint in a final time of 1:21.71.

“What an amazing horse,” Castellano said. “I’m truly honored to ride the horse and very blessed with the way everything went. He was very far back and made a huge run to win the race. Not too many horses can do that. He did it and in a nice way. He’s a really nice horse.”

The hard-luck Complexity was 3/4 of a length better than True Timber, who never gave up while running along the rail. The 3/1 favorite Funny Guy momentarily threatened at the top of the stretch but couldn’t sustain his bid and just nosed out Lexitonian for fourth.

Everfast, Whitmore, Mind Control, Majestic Dunhill, Fortin Hill, and Firenze Fire completed the order of finish.

Win Win Win’s victory was his first at the graded stakes level and improved his overall record to 12-5-3-1 with $601,600 earned. The Florida-bred 4-year-old Hat Trick colt turned the tables on Complexity after finishing second behind him in an optional claiming event at Belmont Park last month.

“I rode him last time at Belmont and he didn’t break out of the gate,” Castellano said. “I rushed to get the spot I was looking for and didn’t have the best result. I think I learned through that experience, and today, it paid off with a Grade 1 win in the Forego.”

Win Win Win returned $16.20 to win, $8.50 to place, and $6.20 to show. Complexity brought back $6.40 to place and $4.90 to show, while True Timber paid $11.80 to show.