Sir Winston wins 2019 Belmont Stakes

The Triple Crown has recently (the last 20 years) been a tough nut to crack for Racetrack Romero. Not all loss by any means, but seldom fulfilling payoffs for the individual races or the series on a whole. This year found middling results in the Derby, and loss in the Preakness. Thank the lord for Sir Winston, a Mark Casse steed that rode the rail, veered out at the top of the stretch, moved boldly ahead, and held the lead gamely vs. a slew of avid closers. When you win by a nose, you win!

ALL HAIL SIR WINSTON! Joel Rosario takes him home in the G1 $1.5 million #BelmontStakes presented by @NYRABets pic.twitter.com/BV4fEj6ytS

— Belmont Stakes (@BelmontStakes) June 8, 2019

The handicapping methodology here was not rocket scientist caliber. In the Peter Pan, Sir Winston came on with a big move at the end. If the race were at a longer distance, he would have won. This was the first angle I ever picked up on in the sport back in the days when every evening we watched the replay of the day's races at Suffolk Downs. The angle has failed repeatedly - when was the last time a Peter Pan winner won the Belmont in fact, anyone could explain to you why it just doesn't work as a Belmont Stakes angle) - but it worked in this year's running.