We Deer You rallies up the rail to victory in Lucky Coin Stakes

SARATOGA SPRINGS,N.Y. – Michael Trombetta called an audible by entering We Deer You in Friday’s $100,000 Lucky Coin Stakes, and the trainer hit paydirt when We Deer You rallied up the rail in the stretch to win the Lucky Coin by 1 3/4 lengths at Saratoga.

Trombetta said he was looking for a third-level allowance in which to run We Deer You, but when he did not see such the race at a proper distance in the recently-released Belmont Park condition book, he opted to put the 4-year-old gelding in this race. Trombetta’s initial fear about the Lucky Coin was that the 5 1/2 furlongs would be too short for him.

“Three-quarters or seven-eighths would have been my first choice,” Trombetta said. “But this worked out better.”

We Deer You, a gelding by Hat Trick, broke last of seven, and Irad Ortiz Jr. saved ground down the backside while Doctor J Dub set fractions of 22.51 seconds for the quarter and 45.16 for the half with Dowse’s Beach in pursuit.

Ortiz kept We Deer You along the hedge around the far turn and into the lane. Above the eighth pole, We Deer You zipped past Doctor J Dub and drew clear, easily outfinishing Loose On the Town, who finished second by a half-length over Big Rock. Dowse’s Beach, Ready for Rye, Spring to the Sky and Doctor J Dub completed the order of finish.

Ricardo Santana Jr., the rider of Doctor J Dub, claimed foul against Ortiz alleging interference after he got passed, but the stewards quickly dismissed the claim.

“He’s a horse that’s not great breaking out of the gate so I let him settle and save all the ground I can and got through the inside and that was the key,” Ortiz said. “After I passed [Doctor J Dub], he started drifting out a little bit. I hold him, I hold him and keep riding at the same time. I don’t think I bothered him.”

We Deer You, owned by Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation, covered the 5 12 furlongs over firm turf in 1:01.86.

“We were shopping around for him, I was a little reluctant to do two turns again and this seemed to fall into place,” Trombetta said. “I contemplated trying him a mile and a sixteenth but he’s a little headstrong and the one time I did that he didn’t do so well on the first turn. He’s one of those horses where if you grab a hold of him he tries to resent it; he likes to run on his own.”

Trombetta said he would point We Deer You to the $150,000 Belmont Sprint Turf Invitational at six furlongs on Oct. 7.