In Classic Debut, Sir Winston Upsets Belmont Stakes

A confusing and controversial Triple Crown season came to a somewhat predictable end, so long as you did not expect the logical outcome.

What started with trainer Bill Mott's "other" horse winning the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) ended with trainer Mark Casse's "other" horse winning the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

"I guess that's what keeps the game interesting," Mott said.

Tracy Farmer's homebred Sir Winston ($22.40) knocked off nine rivals June 8, including stablemate and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, to register a 10-1 upset in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes before a crowd of 56,217 at Belmont Park. Sir Winston pulled clear in the stretch under Joel Rosario and posted a one-length victory.

The Triple Crown season had three winners—and possibly four if you take into consideration Gary and Mary West's Maximum Security, who was disqualified from first to 17th in the Kentucky Derby—sparking confusion about the leader of the pack.

"I guess everyone will go back to Maximum Security," said Casse, when asked about the top 3-year-old in the country. "That would be my guess, but I agree, it's kind of a mess now. Who knows?"

Mott, like Casse, also believes it will be up to the summer and fall to crown a champion. Though he has a Kentucky Derby winner in his barn—Country House was a 65-1 shot when he was moved up from second to first in the Run for the Roses—Juddmonte Farms' Tacitus was his leading Kentucky Derby contender as well as the 9-5 favorite in Saturday's 151st Belmont Stakes. He finished second.

"I don't think anything is settled yet," Mott said. 

Indeed, races like the TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) and Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) seem like the key to an Eclipse Award, and after Saturday, there's a new player in the mix in Sir Winston, especially as the distances get longer.

"They all better watch out for Sir Winston, especially at 10 furlongs. He's a pretty serious horse," Casse said. 

Sir Winston surely looked the part of a classic winner Saturday, as he finally found a distance that suited his late kick. The son of Awesome Again  out of the graded stakes-winning Afleet Alex  mare La Gran Bailadora was winless in four 2019 starts before the Belmont, finishing fifth in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and seventh in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2). Yet it was a fast-closing second in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park that put him on a course for the Belmont. He gave Casse back-to-back Triple Crown wins after the trainer started the series with a seventh-place finish by War of Will in the Kentucky Derby, where the colt was at the center of the incident that led to Maximum Security's disqualification.

Joevia, the 21-to-1 outsider, set the pace in the Belmont with Tax right behind. Through six furlongs in 1:13.54, they remained that way to the quarter pole, when the action began to heat up behind them.

Rosario had plenty of horse along the inside when fortune smiled on him. First, Preakness runner-up Everfast dropped back, allowing Sir Winston to come off the rail. Then War of Will, the 7-2 second choice, ran out of gas leaving the quarter pole, giving Rosario an opportunity to swing outside of Joevia and Tax and surge past them leaving the eighth pole. War of Will faded to ninth. 

"I followed War of Will," said Jose Ortiz, who rode Tacitus. "I think if War of Will had a little bit (more run left in him), Sir Winston would have never come out of there, but unfortunately War of Will was a little bit flat on the turn. I think I was following the right horse. When Rosario came out, (Sir Winston) gave him a great kick, and that made it tougher for me. My horse kept grinding. He kept coming, but Rosario gave (Sir Winston) a great ride."

As Sir Winston edged clear, Tacitus, who was eighth after a mile, rallied about five wide into contention but ran out of ground.

Joevia held for third, three-quarters of a length behind Tacitus. Tax was another length back in fourth, and the Japanese entrant Master Fencer rallied late for fifth.

"He ran well," said Julien Leparoux, who rode Master Fencer. "There wasn't as much pace as we thought."

Sir Winston crossed the wire in 2:28.30 for his first win since the Dec. 8 Display Stakes on an all-weather surface at Woodbine.

"He's an amazing little horse," Casse said. "If you had asked me to rank my top 20 2-year-olds, I would have put him 16th or 17th. But I'm very proud of him because he's kind of what our operation represents. … We develop horses."