Sir Winston, a horse known for having a strong closing run, put that to use in the Belmont. Jockey Joel Rosario gave the colt a perfect ride, hugging the rail and making it a shorter trip. Tacitus was running strongly to finish second, went wide on both turns. At a track like this one, that extra distance probably cost him the win. But who knows? Tacitus is more of a galloper, with a relatively consistent speed; Sir Winston showed impressive accleration both in this race and, earlier in the year, in the Peter Pan Stakes (also at Belmont) where he surged from trailing the field by ten lengths to finishing second.
Sir Winston is trained by Mark Casse, who also trains War of Will (who looked a bit tired). Pretty amazing to win both the Preakness and the Belmont, even if it was on different horses.
Just for fun, I’ve included a video of Secretariat’s amazing Belmont. It’s hard to believe that he just kept pulling away from the field, running all by himself.
I can never watch Secretariat’s video without getting chills. And I was wrong, my comment about Tacitus in yesterday’s belmont. He came in second.
I felt so sorry for Sham. Had it not been for Secretariat, I truly believe Sham would have won the triple crown. He was a good, game horse, but…totally outclassed. I heard that he just gave up after the Belmont. His heart wasn’t in it anymore. I wish I could tell him, don’t feel bad…everybody else got beat by Secretariat. (except Onion, a forgettable horse that I think beat Sec twice more out of alpha male, stink eye confrontation than actual talent.) Secretariat, for all his talent, speed and intelligence, was still, after all, a horse.