Belmont Winner Sir Winston to Miss Summer Season

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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Sir Winston in Mark Casse's barn the morning after winning the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park

Sir Winston, winner of the June 8 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), will get time off in Ocala, Fla. because of a minor ankle issue and will not contest the summer 3-year-old races, trainer Mark Casse confirmed June 20.

The news was first reported by David Grening of the Daily Racing Form.

Sir Winston joins Country House, the elevated winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), on the sideline after trainer Bill Mott reported June 16 that the Lookin At Lucky  colt would be turned out at Blackwood Stables in Versailles, Ky., and would likely not race again this year.

Casse said Sir Winston, a son of Awesome Again  campaigned by breeder Tracy Farmer, will have a long-term goal of starting in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) in January 2020.

"We brought him home here, he's in Ocala, and we're just going to see how it goes," Casse said. "My hopes would be to bring him back in the fall. We'd always planned on running him as a 4-year-old; I think he'll grow up and be a great 4-year-old. We're going to aim for the Pegasus, but I don't know how we get there yet. I would hope to maybe get a start in him before that."

Casse called the issue with Sir Winston's left front ankle "minor."

"Nobody worry about Sir Winston—I was just looking at him about an hour ago, and he looks wonderful," he said. "Right now, he's just going to walk and eat grass and be happy."

Casse still has a major contender for the summer sophomore season in Gary Barber's Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, who is at Keeneland with assistant trainer David Carroll.

"We took him in (to Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital) and let Dr. Bramlage go over him from head to toe, and he had a great report—amazing, actually, for all he's been through," Casse said of the War Front  colt, the only 3-year-old to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year. "The only thing was he ended up having a skin rash after the Belmont, and we're just working on getting that cleaned up."

War of Will won the Lecomte Stakes (G3) and the Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2), both at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, then was ninth in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2). He won the Preakness after finishing seventh in the Kentucky Derby, where he was part of a rough trip at the center of the incident that resulted in the disqualification of Maximum Security, then finished ninth in the Belmont.

"I don't think he cared for the track," Casse said. "He was exhausted after the race, and I know people say, 'Well, it was (three races in) five weeks, but it wasn't that kind of exhausted. His exhaustion was more fatigue like he just struggled, like if you've ever walked in deep sand and don't handle it. That's more what it was, because the next day his energy level was better."

Casse added War of Will could run in the July 27 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga Race Course or train up to the Aug. 24 Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), also at the Spa. The colt will not run in the July 20 TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1), where Maximum Security is expected to start after a runner-up finish to King for a Day in the listed TVG.com Pegasus Stakes June 16 at Monmouth Park.

With two out of three winners of this season's Triple Crown races sidelined, Casse commented on the wide-open nature of the 3-year-old division where year-end honors are concerned.

"Obviously, you've got Maximum Security, who showed the other day that he is vulnerable," he said. "You've got Todd's horse (King for a Day) that's kind of late on the scene; if he were to have a big fall, he'd be in the running. You've got Game Winner out there, too. It's definitely up for grabs. The one good thing for War of Will is, he not only won the Preakness, he also won the Risen Star and Lecomte, so he's not just a one-win horse this year."