A captain in a winning position (5)

I believe the answer is:

ahead

'in a winning position' is the definition.

'a captain' is the wordplay.
'captain' becomes 'head' (both can mean a leader).
'a'+'head'='AHEAD'

(Other definitions for ahead that I've seen before include "In the lead, in advance" , "What's down the road" , "In the vanguard" , "at pole" , "Forwards" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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