Sir Winston (foaled April 8, 2016) is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who won the 2019 Belmont Stakes.

Background

Sir Winston is a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

colt who was bred in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

by Tracy Farmer. He was offered for sale at the 2017 Keeneland Yearling Sales but the top bid of $50,000 did not meet his reserve, and thus races as a homebred for Farmer. He is trained by

Mark Casse Mark E. Casse (born February 14, 1961) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch A ...

. Sir Winston was sired by

Awesome Again Awesome Again (March 29, 1994December 15, 2020) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse and stallion. As a three-year-old, he won the Queen's Plate in Canada and the Jim Dandy Stakes in the United States. He was undefeated at age four ...

, who won the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

and

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

during his racing career. His leading runners include

Ghostzapper Ghostzapper (foaled April 6, 2000) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a track record time of 1:59.02. His gate-to-wire Classic victory completed a 4-for-4 season, ...

Oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term " oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meander in a rive ...

Game On Dude Game On Dude (foaled April 26, 2007 in Kentucky) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse gelding. He won fourteen graded stakes races, including eight Grade I stakes: the Santa Anita Handicap in 2011, 2013, and 2014 the only horse to have wo ...

, Ginger Punch, and Paynter. Sir Winston's dam, La Gran Bailadora, is a stakes-winning daughter of Afleet Alex, who won the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and Belmont in 2005.

Racing career

2018: two-year-old season

Sir Winston made his first start on June 14, 2018, in a maiden special weight race at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

. He broke slowly and was "done early" according to the official chart, finishing sixth. He finished ninth in his next start, on July 21 at Saratoga, before recording his first win on September 12 at Woodbine, a

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

with Inclusive. Sir Winston made his graded stakes debut in the

Grey Stakes The Grey Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. A Grade III, it is open to two-year-old horses and is raced on dirt at a distance of miles. Since 2006, the d ...

at Woodbine on October 21. He settled a few lengths behind the early pacemakers then started his move on the far turn, racing five wide. He closed ground "gamely" and finished third. He made his final start of the year on December 8 in the listed

Display Stakes The Display Stakes is a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Contested on a synthetic "all weather" surface over a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs), it is open to two-year-old horses. Raced durin ...

at Woodbine. He stalked the early pace, then moved to the lead as the field turned into the homestretch. He held off a late run from Inclusive to win by a length.

2019: three-year-old season

Sir Winston started his three-year-old season as a "mystery horse" for Casse, who noted the colt's wins at age two had come over a synthetic surface at Woodbine. "We're not really sure how we'll run on the dirt," Casse said. To test the colt, he entered him in the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse ...

at Aqueduct on February 2, 2019. Sir Winston broke slowly and trailed the field early before closing well down the stretch to finish fourth. He then finished fifth in the

Tampa Bay Derby The Tampa Bay Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in March at Tampa Bay Downs racetrack in Oldsmar, Florida. The event currently carries a purse ...

on March 9. In a last attempt to qualify on the

2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby The 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby was a series of races through which horses qualified for the 2019 Kentucky Derby, which was held on May 4, 2019. The field for the Derby is limited to 20 horses, with up to four 'also eligibles' in case of a late ...

, Sir Winston was entered in the

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

at Keeneland on April 4. He was bumped at the start and settled near the back of the field, then was bothered again with ths of a mile remaining. He raced very wide around the final turn but passed tiring horses to finish seventh, though well beaten by Vekoma. Not qualifying for the Kentucky Derby, Sir Winston entered the

Peter Pan Stakes The Peter Pan Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of miles (nine furlongs) run annually during the second week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. History The race is run in honor o ...

at Belmont Park on May 11 instead. He again broke slowly and trailed the field early, still 10 lengths back with only ths of a mile remaining. He circled six-wide around the final turn, then closed steadily down the stretch to finish second, beaten only lengths by Global Campaign. " ir Winstondoesn't have a whole lot of speed," said Casse, "and he's kind of at the mercy of everyone else in the race, but he'll run all day." Sir Winston earned a

Beyer Speed Figure The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post. First published in book form in 1 ...

of 100 for the race. On June 7, a field of ten entered the 2019 Belmont Stakes. The favorites were Tacitus (2-1) and War of Will (7-2), the latter the winner of the Preakness Stakes and a stablemate of Sir Winston. Despite being winless at age three, Sir Winston went off at odds of 10-1 based on his performance in the Peter Pan. Ridden for the first time by

Joel Rosario Joel Rosario (born January 14, 1985) is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing, originally from the Dominican Republic. In the space of five weeks in 2013 he rode the winners of the Dubai World Cup and the Kentucky Derby. More rec ...

, Sir Winston broke slowly from post position 7 and moved over to the rail to save ground around the first turn. Racing a bit closer to the pace than in most of his previous races, he started his move with a half mile remaining, still maintaining good position near the rail. With a quarter mile remaining though, his progress was blocked by the early leaders. Rosario spotted a small hole to the outside and maneuvered the colt sharply away from the rail. Sir Winston accelerated and got through the hole just ahead of War of Will. With room to run, Sir Winston drew clear of the field then held off a late run from Tacitus to win by a length. It was the first Belmont Stakes win for Casse, who noted that Sir Winston had not been highly regarded as a two-year-old. "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," said Casse. "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... I will try different surfaces; I will try different methods. With a horse like Sir Winston, you know, it paid off there."

Pedigree

References

External links

Race Record & Form
at RacingPost.com {{Belmont Stakes Winners Belmont Stakes winners Racehorses trained in the United States 2016 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-n