For all his accomplishments, pacing superstar We Will See had failed to get a win in his previous four tries at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. On Saturday night, he made amends for that in the biggest way possible.
We Will See paced the fastest mile ever in the history of the Pocono oval, matching a world record in the process, in a victory in the featured Open pace. The race carried the night’s top purse of $50,000.
We Will See, fresh off a win in the Canadian Derby and already over $1 million in earnings for the year, left from post position #3 in the field of eight as the 1-2 favorite. He sat 3rd early, allowing Bettor Sweet to click off the opening fractions of 26:1 and 54:3. Driver Ron Pierce sent the 4-year-old stallion from the barn of trainer Sam DePinto first over on the back stretch, and he was nearly on even terms with Bettor Sweet as they hit the quarter in 1:21:2.
The fireworks began in earnest in the stretch, as We Will See took over the lead but had to go all out to hold off the charge of Dial Or Nodial, who had been resting in the pocket. The stallion closed in 26:3, coming out on top by three-quarters of a length over Dial Or Nodial in a time of 1:48. Bettor Sweet faded to 3rd.
The winning time was the fastest in Pocono history, breaking the mark of 1:48:2 shared by Shadow Play, Pilgrim’s Toner, and Vlos. In addition, that time matches the all-age world record for pacing on a 5/8-mile oval. Artistic Fella first achieved it at Chester in 2008 and Mister Big, also at Chester, matched it in 2009.
We Will See won for the 10th time in 20 tries in 2011. Owned by Shannon DePinto, Earl Smith, and Jerry Silva and sired by Western Hanover, the 4-year-old has 18 lifetime victories and career earnings of $1,961,379.
There were also two condition paces for winners of over $25,000 lifetime on the Saturday night program at Pocono. In the first of these contests, Trade Editor, a Yonkers shipper trained y Rene Allard, went gate-to-wire for a victory in a career-best time of 1:50. Dan Dube did the driving. Later on, Ideal Matters rallied in the final strides on the outside to win the second of these top-notch paces. Andrew McCarthy drove the stallion for trainer Noel Daley.