by Ken Weingartner, Harness Racing Communications

Chester, PA — As soon as Ron Pierce drove We Will See onto the track for Sunday’s (July 3) $500,000 Ben Franklin for older pacers at Harrah’s Chester, he had a good feeling.

Ron Pierce drove We Will See to a 1:48.4 score in the Ben Franklin.

“His first three steps onto the track, I knew this horse was good today,” Pierce said. “When I scored him down I knew he was good.”

Good translated to victorious.

We Will See rallied from third place at the top of the stretch to win the Ben Franklin by three-quarters of a length over Bettor Sweet at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack. The time for the mile was 1:48.4, equaling We Will See’s career best.

Bettor Sweet, who was the early pacesetter from post one, setting fractions of :25.4, :54.2 and 1:21.1, held on for second place and Aracache Hanover finished third.

“It couldn’t have worked out any better,” Pierce said. “We had a great horse inside of us (Bettor Sweet) that could leave fast and luckily for me nobody on the outside left hard, or they could have gotten between me and him. As it turned out, I just sat on his back and followed Bettor Sweet until the passing lane. I came up the passing lane and got by them.”

USTA/Ken Weingartner photos

We Will See’s connections celebrate in the winner’s circle.

We Will See, sent off as the 5-2 favorite from post two, won for the fourth time in 11 races this year and increased his earnings to $414,550 for trainer Sam DePinto and owners Shannon DePinto, Earl Smith and Jerry Silva. A 4-year-old horse, We Will See has won 12 lifetime races and earned $1.28 million.

“Sammy DePinto has done a great job with this horse,” Pierce said. “He’s just flawless. He knows his job and he knows how to do it.”

In his Franklin elimination race last week, We Will See finished second to Aracache Hanover in 1:49.1. Starting from post seven, We Will See raced first over to the lead as the field reached three-quarters in 1:21.3. He was second by 1-1/4 lengths and was timed in 1:49.2.

“I thought I might have over-raced him a little bit last week with the trip he had,” Pierce said. “I wasn’t happy with the way I prepped him for this race, but Sammy went back to the barn and had him right up on his toes and ready to go today.

“This horse is a real dream. He loves his work, and that helps me a lot.”

We Will See paid $7.80, $3.60 and $2.60.