Sovereignty takes victory in Breeders’ Cup Classic after year of setbacks
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- After missing last year’s Breeders’ Cup and overcoming a recent foot abscess, Sovereignty surged to a commanding Classic victory at Keeneland.
- The win likely brings Sovereignty a second consecutive Horse of the Year title, while giving Dubai’s Godolphin stable its first Breeders’ Cup Classic triumph.
It took a year longer than expected, and there were obstacles along the way, but Sovereignty finally showed Saturday that he belongs among the greatest horses of any generation.
Prevented from running in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar because of a fever and forced to overcome a foot abscess less than two months ago, Sovereignty made all the angst and waiting pay off when he dominated the $7 million Classic at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky.
Unleashing a powerful move on the far turn under jockey Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty took the lead from stablemate Knightsbridge and rolled to an emphatic 1¾-length victory over The Puma. Knightsbridge was third, with two Japanese horses, T O Password and favored Forever Young finishing fourth and fifth. Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner Golden Tempo was sixth and Preakness winner Napoleon Solo seventh and last.
Hughes, named after hockey player Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, wins the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and is a horse to watch for the 2027 Kentucky Derby.
Forever Young’s defeat meant that on a Breeders’ Cup Saturday when California horses were shut out for the second time in four years, one of the state’s racing legends at least managed to keep his place in the record book. Tiznow remains the only horse to win the Classic twice, having done so in 2000 and 2001.
Sovereignty likely won’t get a chance to equal Tiznow, since it’s likely that last year’s Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Travers winner will be retired to stud.
But he will go out a champion, almost certain to be voted Horse of the Year for the second straight year after running 1¼ miles in a rapid 2:00.36. He paid $5.94 as the 19-10 second choice and earned $3.64 million, pushing his career total beyond $10.5 million. More importantly, he provided for the Godolphin Stable of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai its first victory in the Derby and the Classic.
“He’s a magnificent horse. I’ve had a couple good ones, but you could almost say he’s a once-in-a-lifetime horse,” said Bill Mott, who also trained Cigar, another two-time Horse of the Year.
Alvarado’s biggest problem Saturday was just being patient. He said even as the field turned into the backstretch, with about three-quarters of a mile left in the race, he said he was thinking, “Oh boy, I can’t wait to turn for home because I knew the power I have underneath me.”
Added Alvarado: “I never had a doubt. You can watch the replay 100 times and you can see how good he was the whole way around.”
Beyond Tiznow, further consolation for California came earlier Saturday when the top jockey in the state, Juan Hernandez, got his first Cup win after 30 consecutive defeats.
Bacio ($6.36), a 3-year-old colt Hernandez had ridden to four straight victories at tracks in California, Kentucky and England, captured the Turf Sprint for trainer Wesley Ward.
Hernandez had been the regular jockey aboard the 2-year-old Hughes, but trainer Bob Baffert chose to use Flavien Prat for Friday’s Juvenile, which Hughes won to clinch the 2-year-old championship. Hughes was the only California-based horse to win over the two days.
“I’m glad today I get to break my maiden in the Breeders’ Cup, and hopefully this one is just one of many more,” Hernandez said.
While California horses managed nothing better than a pair of third-place finishes Saturday — John Sadler’s Full Serrano in the Dirt Mile and Peter Miller’s Liam Smith in the Sprint — other American horses had more success, even in the grass races. After European horses won all three turf races Friday, the Americans won the first three Saturday before trainer Aidan O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore captured the $5 million Turf with Benvenuto Cellini ($8.52). It was the third win of the weekend for both as O’Brien extended his all-time record of Cup wins to 24 (and Moore increased his total to 19).
Prat also won three races on the weekend, all on favorites. Along with Hughes, he captured the Dirt Mile on Further Ado ($4.02) and the Filly & Mare Sprint with Ways and Means ($4.14). The latter is trained by Chad Brown, who later captured the Filly & Mare Turf with Kathynmarissa ($13.24, the highest win price of any Cup race) to increase his career win total to 21, third behind O’Brien and Baffert (22).
The day’s best sentimental story came in the Mile, where Deterministic ($12.10) knocked off the defending race champion, England’s Notable Speech. Deterministic is trained by Miguel Clement, whose father, Hall of Fame trainer Christophe Clement, died in May from a rare eye cancer at age 59.
“He’s meant the world to us,” Miguel Clement said. “He gave us great happiness in a dark part of our lives, and he means a tremendous amount to a lot of people. It’s very rewarding for us to have our first Breeders’ Cup with him.”
Short-priced horses dominated the weekend, with seven favorites, five second choices and two third choices winning. The biggest upset came in the Sprint when Japan’s T O Elvis ($7.58) defeated the 3-year-old Englishman, the 4-5 favorite.
Fittingly, the heaviest favorite of the weekend won when Nitrogen ($3.58) capped a championship season with a victory in the Distaff.
