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Sovereignty: A horse with history in its sights in the coming months

If we could compartmentalize the ebb and flow of the elite thoroughbred racing year in the United States, it would look something like this: The late winter and early spring is all about the Road to the Kentucky Derby, a series of prep race designed both to establish credentials and inform punters of how the market shapes up for the Run for the Roses; from late spring to June, it’s Triple Crown season – the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Bemont Stakes; a short break across July, and it’s the summer campaign, with top events like the Travers Stakes; Toward the winter, all roads lead to the Breeders’ Cup Festival.

The above is a rough guide, but it gives you an idea of how and when the attention goes to the big races. And now that we are in the summer campaign, the word on everyone’s lips remains “Sovereignty.” The Bill Mott-trained horse achieved the incredible double of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. That means Sovereignty is not quite in the company of Triple Crown winners like Secretariat or Justify. Still, the horse’s reputation remains unblemished as Mott and his team decided to skip the Preakness Stakes. But there’s still plenty of time to enhance that resume by 2025.

All eyes are on the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.

The Travers Stakes is one option, but the “big one” is the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the late fall. Sovereignty tops the horse betting markets for that one at this early stage, and the odds might change in the coming weeks and months, but there is a real chance to make history. Over 50 horses have won two legs of the Triple Crown, so it’s not that rare to do what Sovereignty did, but only three horses in history have won three legs of the Grand Slam (two of the Triple Crown Races and the Breeders’ Cup Classic). As racing historians know, American Pharoah is the only horse to win all four.

It would represent an incredible achievement, but one that is extraordinary because Sovereignty was not always billed as a superstar, the highly rated, sure, especially when bursting onto the scene last winter. But there were ups and downs across the spring campaign, before Sovereignty took control in the Kentucky Derby and followed it up with a big run in the Belmont Stakes. There’s no guarantee that the horse will do the same in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, especially as the well-liked Journalism (the starting favourite for the Kentucky Derby).

A clash between two incredibly talented horses

Journalism ran Sovereignty close in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, coming second in both, and won the Preakness Stakes in Sovereignty’s absence, so you have a situation where two elite horses could be clashing over the coming weeks and months. They are first and second favourites for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, which whets the appetite among fans.

These narratives matter in elite racing. They tell a story that is of interest to the wider public and casual fans, drawing them into the world of horse racing and equestrianism in general. It might be about putting names like Sovereignty or Journalism, for that matter, into the history books, but it also helps secure the present and future of racing as a sport.