Sir Winston’s Belmont shock is becoming finish to a wild Triple Crown season

ELMONT, N.Y. — A wacky Triple Crown season ended with one other shock on Saturday.

Sir Winston, who went off at comparatively steep odds of 10-1, held off favourite Tacitus to win the 151st Belmont Stakes.

It marked a second consecutive Triple Crown victory for coach Mark Casse, who additionally works with Preakness winner Struggle of Will.

“I mentioned all week [Sir Winston] was doing very well,” Casse mentioned. “What can I say, it is simply thrilling.”

There’s loads of feel-good issue in the case of Casse. The 58-year-old is a six-time winner of the Sovereign Award, given to the excellent coach in Canada every year, and is a member of the Canadian Horse Racing Corridor of Fame. However he’d by no means gained a Triple Crown race earlier than this 12 months.

Now he has gained two in a row, with two completely different horses. However Casse nonetheless had combined feelings after the race.

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“Imagine me, the Belmont is massive to me, it is big to win,” Casse mentioned. “However it nonetheless damage that Struggle of Will did not run higher. I am nonetheless actual emotional about that.”

For jockey Joel Rosario, it was a second Belmont Stakes victory. He additionally gained on Tonalist in 2014.

“[Sir Winston] is a really good horse and it’s a must to let him do his factor,” Rosario mentioned. “I am actually blissful.”

For Sir Winston, it was simply his third victory in 10 profession begins. He did not even run within the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness.

Till Saturday, Sir Winston hadn’t gained any of his begins this 12 months. AP Picture/Seth Wenig

“This horse, he is a tremendous little horse,” Casse mentioned. “Presently final 12 months, when you had requested me to price our high 20 2-year-olds, he would have been 16th or 17th. I am very happy with him.”

A 12 months in the past right here at Belmont Park, Justify grew to become simply the 13th horse to comb the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, successful the Triple Crown. However 2019 has been very completely different.

It began with Most Safety seemingly successful the Derby, earlier than being disqualified for interference. Two weeks later, Struggle of Will gained at Pimlico — a victory overshadowed by Bodexpress ditching jockey John Velazquez and operating the race riderless.

Struggle of Will, the one horse to run all three legs of the Triple Crown this season, light badly on Saturday, ending ninth within the 10-horse subject. That is now the seventh 12 months since 2008 completely different horse has gained every of the three Triple Crown races, and the third time it is occurred prior to now 4 years.

And, perhaps that is a very good factor?

Positive, watching Justify end it off final 12 months was thrilling. And the group on Saturday — 56,217 — wasn’t practically as massive because it was a 12 months in the past, when 90,000 individuals packed Belmont Park.

However a giant a part of sports activities’ attraction is their unpredictability.

Comparatively few individuals predicted Sir Winston’s victory on Saturday — he hadn’t gained any of his 4 begins this 12 months. And nobody may have predicted all of the twists and turns of this Triple Crown season.

Cannot wait ’til subsequent 12 months.