Dual Classic winner Sovereignty asserted his dominance once again to win the $1.25 million Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, Aug. 23. The Kentucky-bred’s win provided trainer Bill Mott with his initial victory in the historic race.
“It’s something I’ve been waiting on,” said Mott, a dual Kentucky Derby-winning trainer. “I had two or three races on my bucket list, and one was the Met Mile which we got that done with [Kentucky-bred] Cody’s Wish and the one that was left was the Travers. Now, the only thing to do is to try and come back and repeat. Those are some of the most important races. For me, racing primarily in New York now, the Kentucky Derby was great, but I must say, for me, I think the Travers is a great race to win. It’s very satisfying and gratifying to get that done.”
Sovereignty Gives Godolphin Third Travers Win
In a dazzling display of strength and athleticism, Sovereignty rallied from off-the-pace to claim a 10-length victory in the 10-furlong “Mid-Summer Derby” for sophomores, providing his owner and breeder Godolphin with their third win in the Spa’s centerpiece event. Godolphin won the race in a dead-heat with Alpha in 2012 and an outright score with Essential Quality in 2021.
Sovereignty became the first Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner since Thunder Gulch in 1995 to win the Travers.
“This is the horse of a lifetime,” said jockey Junior Alvarado, who was also the regular rider of Godolphin’s 2023 Horse of the Year Cody’s Wish. “All my big wins come from him. I can’t give thanks enough to the Godolphin people and to Billy Mott for keeping their trust in me and letting me ride these beautiful horses.”
A Superior Sovereignty
Sovereignty was the heavy 1-4 favorite amid a field of five, but a humble Mott took nothing for granted in the days leading up to the race and allowed Sovereignty to do the talking. Alvarado and Sovereignty were content to follow the top three and raced to the outside of Strategic Focus heading into the backstretch. Racing wide into the stretch, Sovereignty was asked for his best and responded with a devastating turn-of-foot after reaching one mile in 1:36.02. Bracket Buster put forth a brave run along the inside and gave everything he had under Luis Saez to try and post a monumental upset, but Sovereignty’s superiority shone in the final eighth as he drew off to a romping victory geared down in a final time of 2:00.84.
“He was amazing today. He showed something maybe a little different today,” Alvarado said. “We got kind of boxed in a little bit between horses. I just didn’t want to go wide in the first turn. He handles everything I try with him. He just does it so professionally with no hesitation.”
Sovereignty’s sparkling campaign includes his two Classic victories over Preakness and Haskell winner Journalism when taking the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in June. He continued his run of good form with a wide-running victory in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on July 26 and became the 14th horse to notch a Jim Dandy/Travers double. He also won Gulfstream Park’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in March when making his seasonal debut.
Breeders’ Cup Bound
Sovereignty is likely to set his sights on his first meeting with elders in this year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. The winning earnings of $687,500 brought Sovereignty’s bankroll to more than $5.8 million, and he improved his record to 9-6-2-0.