■ Sir Winston, at 10-1 odds, gave the Triple Crown another unexpected turn with a win in the Belmont Stakes.

Holds off Tacitus down homestretch to capture Belmont

NEW YORK — Sir Winston provided a perfect finish to a crazy Triple Crown.

After a disqualification in the Kentucky Derby and a runaway horse in the Preakness, of course the Belmont Stakes goes to a 10-1 long shot.

Sir Winston captured the $1.5 million race Saturday, holding off favored

Tacitus by a length.

The win gave trainer Mark Casse the final two jewels in the showcase for 3-year-old thoroughbreds. He won the Preakness with War of Will, who was expected to battle Tacitus in the 1½-mile Belmont.

Instead, Casse’s other colt took the lead after a ground-saving ride by Joel Rosario.

It wasn’t really a shock to Casse. “I said all week he was doing really well,” Casse said. “He had a race over the track. What can I say? It’s just exciting.”

Sir Winston, who was making his Triple Crown debut, finished second in the Peter Pan Stakes, the traditional prep for the Belmont.

Rosario rode him for the first time in that race, and the two put on a show Saturday in front of a crowd of 56,217, earning $800,000 for owner Tracy Farmer.

Long shot Joevia finished third and Tax was fourth.

The Triple Crown grind caught up to Preakness winner War of Will, who ran in all three races. He finished ninth in the 10-horse field.

“I could see where War of Will was struggling a little bit,” Casse said. “He looked like maybe he was a little flat today.”

The Belmont capped an entertaining Triple Crown highlighted by the disqualification of Maximum Security in the Kentucky Derby. It sparked interest in thoroughbred racing despite no possibility of the third Triple Crown winner in five years, coming on the heels of Justify last year and American Pharoah in 2015.

The Belmont was a jockey’s race and Rosario was the right rider on a horse full of run.

Breaking from the No. 7 post, Rosario guided the chestnut colt to the rail for an energy-saving trip. Sir Winston was eighth for the first halfmile and then started to rally on the final turn.

Up front, 21-1 long shot Joevia continued to set the pace with Tax closely tracking. In the stretch, Rosario angled Sir Winston — named for Winston Churchill — off the rail and slightly bothered stablemate War of Will.

This time, there was no inquiry or objection. Sir Winston surged to the lead with an eighth of a mile to go and held off a late run from Tacitus, who had an extremely wide trip under jockey Jose Ortiz.

The Associated Press