Belmont hero Sir Winston finishes strongly to win at Aqueduct

OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Sir Winston, the 2019 Belmont Stakes winner, made a successful 4-year-old debut, rallying from last to win an allowance race Friday at Aqueduct and put himself back in play to run in the $12 million Dubai World Cup on March 28.

In his first dirt race and just second start since he upset the Belmont Stakes last June, Sir Winston was content to sit last of seven through the opening six furlongs. Under Dylan Davis, he was seven lengths behind pacesetting Leitone, who ran an opening half-mile in 48.33 seconds.

Davis had Sir Winston along the inside turning for home before swinging him into the three-path in upper stretch. After brushing with Roaming Union, Sir Winston split horses inside the three-sixteenths pole and rallied past Leitone to win by 2 1/4 lengths. Musical America, the 8-5 favorite, got up for second by three-quarters of a length over Leitone.

Sir Winston, a son of Awesome Again owned by Tracy Farmer, covered the mile in 1:39.15 and returned $10.40 as the 4-1 third choice. Sir Winston wound up being the longest-priced winner on Friday’s eight-race card.

“That’s a big relief,” trainer Mark Casse said from Ocala, Fla., where he watched the race via simulcast. “It was powerful. I know it was an allowance race, but there were some veterans in there and not easy to beat.”

Sir Winston hadn’t had an easy time of things the last month or so. Sir Winston finished last in the Woodchopper Stakes on turf on Dec. 28 at Fair Grounds. On Jan. 16, he lost a shoe in a workout at Belmont Park and wound up with a tender foot. He was fitted with glue-on shoes.

Sir Winston was entered in but ultimately scratched from the Jazil Stakes here on Jan. 25 due to an extremely sloppy track. Friday’s allowance was a back-up plan though the one-mile distance seemed less than ideal.

Davis said that Sir Winston broke well and he took a hold of the horse to let him sit back and finish, which were the instructions from Casse and assistant Jamie Begg.

“He got into a good rhythm, took himself a little back but he was in good stride and really waiting for me to [call] on him,” Davis said. “I had to fight a little to get in between some horses and once he got through he took off more so it was nice.”

The stewards posted the inquiry sign to see that if Sir Winston may have cost Roaming Union a placing when he brushed him while splitting horses. The stewards deemed that it did not cost Roaming Union, who finished fourth, a better placing.

Begg called the performance “above expectations.”

Casse said that Sir Winston could either run in the $100,000 Bernardini Stakes, a 1 5/16-mile race at Aqueduct on Feb. 29, or simply train up to the Dubai World Cup. Either way, Sir Winston will remain in New York.

“I’m not taking him anywhere,” Casse said. “Jamie’s done too good a job with him.”