Trombetta Hoping for a Win Win Win Situation

Michael Trombetta is one of a number of trainers of aspiring 3-year-olds looking for success, but also looking for questions to be answered this time of year, as he sends out his young star Win Win Win in the $400,000 Lambolm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2).

Live Oak Plantation homebred Win Win Win comes into the 1 1/16-mile Tampa Bay Derby March 9 at Tampa Bay Downs with three wins from four career starts—all sprinting. His performance in the seven-furlong Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, where he overcame a slow start to overwhelm his competition by more than seven lengths while covering the distance in a blistering 1:20.89, brought national attention. 

The son of Hat Trick has been mentioned as a serious Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) contender by several in the media but the ever pragmatic Trombetta prefers to take nothing for granted; he'll find out more about his colt in each race.

Win Win Win Ranks Fourth on Steve Haskin's Derby Dozen

"At this point with these horses, every race is a testing ground and the race Saturday is no exception," said the 30-year training veteran. "Most of these horses are in the same boat. They're being asked to do things and run distances they've never run before. I know my horse is certainly a very nice seven-furlong horse. Is he a two-turn kinda horse. I just don't know? 

"I know he's talented and I know he's fast. His grandsire is Sunday Silence and his dam's sire is Smarty Jones  so the blood to go longer is certainly there," Trombetta said. "Now we have to find out if it comes out."

Win Win Win, out of winning Smarty Jones mare Miss Smarty Pants, had problems at the start of his past two races but his trainer he was more a victim of circumstance rather than bad manners on his part.

"In the race at Laurel (the Heft Stakes) the racetrack was really greasy that day and the ground sort of slipped out from under him," Trombetta said. "Then, if you remember in the Pasco, a horse got loose and ran off and he had to stand in the gate for a long time before they finally broke. I think his mind sort of wondered and he wasn't focused at the break but it didn't seem to faze him and he just went along nicely early until it was time to go. 

"If he can kick it in Saturday like he did in the Pasco, I'll take our chances with anybody."

Trombetta passed on starting Win Win Win in the grade 3 Sam Davis following the Pasco, electing instead to train at Tampa for the Tampa Bay Derby. While many horsemen may have been tempted to take it easy with a horse coming off such a big race, Trombetta has maintained a steady and consistent work pattern with five morning works between races, including a bullet move March 3 going a half-mile in :47.

"We didn't think running him three times in seven weeks was the way to go, so we skipped the Davis but that meant he'd be coming into this race with 40 days between starts so we needed to make sure he kept the fitness and foundation he got from the Pasco race," Trombetta said.

Also, one of the five works Win Win Win posted was a sharp five-furlong move out of the gate in :59 15 Feb. 24, also earning the bullet. Trombetta said that work was done more to convince his connections there were no significant problems being in and around the gate.

"I was pretty sure he wasn't a problem gate horse, I mean he broke fine in his first two starts but we let him break that one time in the morning just to be sure and he was fine," the trainer said.

Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard Win Win Win for the first time Saturday and Trombetta notes that in a field with a number of horses with tactical speed, early placement could be key. 

"You can make all the plans you want but when they spring the latch, 99% of the time it's in the hands of the rider," Trombetta said. "It'll be up to Irad to place him in a contending spot while trying to save something for later. Then we'll find out if he's up to handling the distance and the competition.

"I learned something a long time ago about horses," Trombetta concluded, "I found they wind up telling you what they can do a lot more than you tell them. Saturday we'll see what Win Win Win has to tell us."

Entries: Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2)

Tampa Bay Downs, Saturday, March 09, 2019, Race 11

• Grade II
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $400,000
• 3 yo
• 5:25 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Admire (KY)	Robby Albarado	117	Dale L. Romans	12/1
2	2Sir Winston (KY)	Julien R. Leparoux	117	Mark E. Casse	12/1
3	3Lord Dragon (KY)	Jose A. Bracho	117	Jordan Blair	30/1
4	4Dream Maker (KY)	Florent Geroux	117	Mark E. Casse	4/1
5	5Well Defined (FL)	Pablo Morales	119	Kathleen O'Connell	7/2
6	6Outshine (KY)	Joel Rosario	117	Todd A. Pletcher	8/1
7	7Win Win Win (FL)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	117	Michael J. Trombetta	5/2
8	8The Right Path (KY)	Joe Bravo	117	Jorge Duarte, Jr.	15/1
9	9Dunph (KY)	Daniel Centeno	117	Michael J. Maker	20/1
10	10Tacitus (KY)	Jose L. Ortiz	117	William I. Mott	12/1
11	11Zenden (KY)	Samy Camacho	117	Victor Barboza, Jr.	8/1