ELMONT, New York – Mark Casse won his second Triple Crown race this year when Sir Winston posted a 10-1 upset Saturday in the Belmont Stakes.

The Casse-trained War of Will, who rebounded from a tough-luck eighth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby to win the Preakness Stakes, never factored in the Belmont, stalking the pace on the outside before flattening out to finish ninth of 10.

While War of Will was on the Triple Crown trail, Sir Winston was trying to find himself. He was fourth in the Withers, fifth in the Tampa Bay Derby, and a distant ninth in the Blue Grass Stakes before taking a huge leap forward to finish a close third May 11 in the Peter Pan Stakes here at Belmont.

That showed Casse and owner-breeder Tracy Farmer enough to give the Belmont a try and Sir Winston rewarded their faith with a one-length win over favored Tacitus. Joevia, who set splits of 23.92, 48.79, 1:13.54, 1:38.27, and 2:02.72 held third, three-quarters of a length behind Tacitus. Then came Tax, Master Fencer, Spinoff, Everfast, Intrepid Heart, War of Will, and Bourbon War. Winning time for the 1 ½- miles on a fast track was a tepid 2:28.30.

Jockey Joel Rosario rode Sir Winston for the first time in the Peter Pan and gave him an intrepid ride Saturday, waiting near the back of the field before launching a rally on the far turn. Sir Winston saved nearly the entire marathon trip while always in the bridle, scooted inside Everfast before the quarter pole, was switched outside Joevia and Tax –while crossing very close to a fading War of Will – before the furlong grounds, made the lead under heavy urging and held safe Tacitus’s wide rally.

Tacitus, breaking from post 10, angled over into the first turn but still lost ground around both bends. He loomed large when jockey Jose Ortiz asked him to get position with a little more than three furlong to run but couldn’t deliver the required finish despite the final quarter mile going in 25.58.

Sir Winston ($22.40) is a son of Awesome Again out of La Gran Bailadora, by Afleet Alex. He’s improved dramatically through the spring, getting better the farther he ran, and made 2019 one of those years where each Triple Crown race yielded a different winner. That feels different for Casse, who had no Triple Crown wins coming into 2019 and now has two with different horses.