Although no Triple Crown title was on the line, Sir Winston made things exciting at the Belmont Stakes with his victory on Saturday.
The field headed to the post for this Saturday’s Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the third jewel in the Triple Crown, and while no horse was looking to etch their name in the history books, Sir Winston grabbed headlines around the world for his 10-1 upset.
The win gave Mark Casse a second American Classic victory just three weeks after War of Will landed the Canadian Hall of Fame trainer his first.
Sir Winston, rode by jockey Joel Rosario, defeated 9-5 favorite Tacitus by a length at the wire, completing 1 1/2 miles over Big Sandy’s fast main track in 2:28.30, and marking the 2nd win for Rosario at the Belmont Stakes.
Rosario won back in 2014 with Tonalist, when they halted California Chrome’s bid for the Triple Crown.
“He’s an amazing little horse. If at this time last year, if you had asked me to rate our top-20 2-year-olds, he would have been about 16th or 17th. But I’m very proud of him because he’s kind of what our operation represents, and that is I feel like we develop horses,” Casse said, according to Paulick Report.
“I have this philosophy. I start every horse out thinking that they are going to win the Kentucky Derby, or the Oaks. That’s what I do. And I will try different surfaces; I will try different methods. With a horse like Sir Winston, you know, it paid off there.”
“He’s a very nice horse and you have to let him do this thing. I’m really happy,” Rosario said.
“It seemed like he didn’t mind [being] inside. I just took my time with him. For the distance, he broke very good. Today, he was a little closer, so I let him be where he was comfortable.”
Now, the horse will likely set his sights on the Saratogay Travers that takes place in Saratoga, New York on August 24th, at the Saratoga Race Course, follow these racing tips from consistently profitable horse racing tipsters at OLBG.com.
“I tell you what, they all better watch out going to a mile-and-a-quarter because Sir Winston will come running, too. Sir Winston is a pretty serious horse, so don’t count him out,” Casse said.
“You didn’t see the real War of Will today. I know that,” Casse said. “So, we’ve got to get back and figure out what’s up and why he didn’t run better.
“As far as War of Will, first we’ll have a couple days and make sure how he is. [We’ll] probably send him back to Kentucky [and] give him a little break. The plan would be, and I would have to discuss it with Gary Barber, but we’re going to aim him for the Travers.
“Again I’ll talk to Mr. Farmer but I don’t think there’s much out there he would enjoy more than winning the Travers, so I’m sure he’ll be all for that.”