With the Triple Crown split three ways, best 3-year-old in the land unclear

June 10 (UPI) -- The Triple Crown is in the books, but with separate winners in each race, plus one who was disqualified for the win, not much as been decided about the 3-year-old championship.

Sir Winston came essentially out of nowhere to win Saturday's Belmont Stakes, giving trainer Mark Casse two wins in the series after his War of Will took the Preakness.

And the Kentucky Derby victory, of course, was awarded to Country House after Maximum Security's finished first, only to be disqualified for interference near the top of the stretch.

So who's tops now? Casse thinks most people would default to Maximum Security

"I think probably everybody will go back to Maximum Security, won't they?" Casse said in the post-Belmont news conference. "That's what I -- that would be my guess. But I agree, it's kind of a mess right now as far as that goes. Who knows?"

But the issue still remains to be decided on the track. Casse said he expects both War of Will and Sir Winston to point toward the Grade I Travers -- the "Midsummer Derby" at Saratoga and he remains high on War of Will.

"I don't really have an explanation for his race yesterday," Casse said Sunday at his Belmont barn. "But I'm not going to use the five weeks (of the Triple Crown races) as an excuse. The only thing I can tell you now is that he will be back."

Also very much still in the mix is Tacitus, who finished second in the Belmont, perhaps losing because of a wide trip from the outside post position. Tacitus finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby, promoted to third by the disqualification.

"For sure there are a lot of dances left in the second half of the year," said Tacitus' trainer, Bill Mott, who also trains Country House. "I hope there are good things still to come for him," he said.

Mott said if the occasion should arise, he would not hesitate to pit his two colts against one another in a big race. "Keeping them separate is probably going to be impossible," he said.

Plans remain fluid for Maximum Security and Country House. Should either of both of those find his way to the Travers, the issue might be settled right then and there.

Or, given the crazy nature of the Triple Crown, perhaps not.

Sir Winston's victory in the Belmont, for example, owed a lot to a move at the top of the stretch that looked eerily like the one that got Maximum Security disqualified at Churchill Downs.

After skimming the rail, jockey Joel Rosario found no place to go with Sir Winston and finally cut in front of his stablemate, War of Will, to get room. As he did when he was victimized by Maximum Security in the Derby, War of Will took up, lost momentum and finished well back of the leaders. This time, there was no inquiry and no objection.

"He broke real good. I got into the spot where I wanted to be. I was able to save ground the whole time. I was in a good spot. After that, it was all him," Rosario said. "I knew he was going to win the race, the way he was moving."

Casse, who expected War of Will to run well, seemed at a loss for words when interviewed on the track after watching his 10-1 "second horse" bring home the bacon.

"I said all week long he was doing well," Casse said. "And he had a race over the track ... I saw Joel cut the corner a little bit (on the stretch turn) and I could see War of Will was struggling," the trainer added. "So I started 'riding' Sir Winston."