Belmont Stakes hero Sir Winston, making his first start on dirt since his Triple Crown victory last June, surged last to first on Friday in an allowance optional claiming race at Aqueduct that will have the Mark Casse trainee climbing back up the class ladder
The son of Awesome Again, a Tracy Farmer homebred, trailed a field of seven entering the far turn before uncorking an eye-catching rally under jockey Dylan Davis. He gobbled up ground along the rail once Leitone opened up in 48.33 seconds for the half mile, split horses in the stretch and stopped the clock in 1:39.15 for the one-turn mile.
That seemed to exceed the expectations of Casse, who scratched Sir Winston out of last Saturday’s Jazil Stakes when the track came up sloppy. In rerouting to the allowance, the trainer said that, “All I’m looking for is a positive race where he’s closing.”
The betting public seemed to agree with that assessment, letting Sir Winston off as the 4-1 third choice.
An objection was filed by fourth-place finisher Roaming Union’s camp before the race went official. Looking for room to run in the stretch, Sir Winston made some contact with Roaming Union to his outside, but was traveling much quicker than that rival on his way to the victory.
The 8-5 favorite Musical America ran second with Leitone, the 9-5 second choice, third.
Sir Winston had run last off the layoff in Fair Grounds’ Dec. 28 Woodchopper Stakes. That event, while restricted to 3-year-olds, went over yielding turf that wasn’t to the colt’s liking.
With this step forward, Casse has said Sir Winston could use Friday’s race as a springboard to the Feb. 29 Bernardini Stakes going 1 5/16 miles at Aqueduct before a try at the March 28 Dubai World Cup (G1) at 1 1/4 miles.
