Belmont Stakes Winner Sir Winston Back on Work Tab
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Sir Winston the morning after his Belmont Stakes score at Belmont Park
Tracy Farmer's homebred Sir Winston, unraced since winning the June 8 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), resumed breezing Oct. 23 after recovering from a left front ankle injury. He is targeted to return toward the end of this year, trainer Mark Casse said.
The 3-year-old son of Awesome Again worked at Casse Racing Training Center in Ocala, Fla., where he breezed three furlongs in :37 2/5.
"I was quite happy with him," Casse said.
Casse said no surgery was needed for Sir Winston, only time off. He complimented his Belmont Park assistant, Jamie Begg, for quickly spotting what Casse described as a minor injury in June.
Out of the graded stakes-winning Afleet Alex mare La Gran Bailadora, Sir Winston was winless in his first four starts this year, finishing fourth in the Withers Stakes (G3), fifth in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2), and seventh in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2). A strong-finishing second in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont signaled late-spring improvement that vaulted him into the third leg of the Triple Crown, where he defeated Tacitus by a length.
A winner of three of 10 starts and $961,773, Sir Winston also won a maiden race and the Display Stakes at Woodbine when racing on a synthetic surface during his 2-year-old campaign in 2018.
Casse hopes that after a comeback race, Sir Winston could compete in a race such as the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 25, the $20 million Saudi Cup Feb. 29, or the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) Mar 28.
"He may need a race when we bring him back," Casse said. "We'll figure out something that fits for him, but right now we're happy to have him back breezing."