LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Though Sovereignty came out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby victory in good shape - save a superficial scrape on his right front pastern - he is far from definite to move on to Pimlico and pursue the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes in two weeks, his connections said Sunday morning.
“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” trainer Bill Mott said outside his Churchill barn on a rainy Sunday morning. “Normally, of course, you want to always think about a Triple Crown and that’s not something we’re not going to think about. We’ve got to come to a conclusion, probably in the next few days, but it’s not going to be this morning.”
Mott reported that Sovereignty suffered a scrape - “it’s not a cut,” he emphasized - likely when the horse clipped heels with Chunk of Gold, who had come over on Sovereignty a few strides out of the gate.
“It’s about four inches long, right now it looks to be a superficial thing,” Mott said. “Everything else on him looks good - knees, ankles, jogging good - I can’t be happier with everything else.”
As it typically is in this day and age, the indecision about running back in the Preakness is about the two-week turnaround. Horses are usually given four to six weeks between starts and the schedule just to get to the Kentucky Derby is a rigorous one. Sovereignty won the Fountain of Youth on March 1, then finished second in the Florida Derby on March 29.
The Belmont Stakes, run at 1 1/4 miles on June 7 at Saratoga, would give Sovereignty five weeks between races, the similar timeframe he had from the Florida Derby to the Kentucky Derby.
“I think over the years people realize spacing these horses out a little bit gives you the opportunity to make them last a little longer and I think we’re looking at a career,” Mott said. “We want the career to last more than five weeks.”
Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Godolphin Racing, the owner/breeders of Sovereignty, echoed those sentiments.
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“It’s a long season, he’s had three hard races since [March] and that takes a lot out of those horses,” Banahan said. “You saw him train all week long, he puts a lot into his gallops as well. It’s a quick turnaround, knowing that’s what makes the Triple Crown so special. We’re going to do the right thing for him, he’ll tell us yay or nay, we’ll do what he tells us to do. There’s a lot of great races out there for 3-year-olds.”
In 2021, the Godolphin-owned Essential Quality finished fourth (elevated to third) in the Kentucky Derby. Essential Quality skipped the Preakness, then won the Belmont, Jim Dandy and Travers and was named 3-year-old champion. Essential Quality was also the 2-year-old champion of 2020.
The Belmont Stakes, for the second year in a row, is going to be run at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga, something that “makes it very interesting to me” Mott said. “I’d like to see him at his best going into the Belmont.”
Mott praised the job Junior Alvarado did being able to save ground early in the race before tipping out and making a wide move over the sloppy track.
“I think he believed all the time he was going to win this race,” Mott said. “I think he’s thought that from the time that he started riding him.”
Sovereignty earned a 104 Beyer Speed Figure for the victory.
Journalism, the Kentucky Derby runner-up, came out of his race in good order, trainer Michael McCarthy said Sunday morning. For a horse that had never previously run or trained on a wet track, Journalism, McCarthy said “to be able to do what he did under those types of conditions, I thought was a valiant effort.”
McCarthy said a decision on the Preakness is pending for Journalism, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta and Elayne Stables.
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“We’ll speak to everybody and come up with a game plan,” McCarthy said. “You’re always anxious to try it again and he’s run well off of short rest. We’ll see. If he’s good, you have to think about it.”
Both Sovereignty and Journalism will remain at Churchill Downs until such time as decisions are made on where they’ll run next.
Baeza, who rallied to come within a neck of Journalism, will head back to California this week, skip the Preakness and likely point to the Belmont Stakes, trainer John Shirreffs said. Baeza got a little worked up on the walkover from the backside to the paddock, but Shirreffs didn’t believe it impacted his race.
“Wouldn’t you? Where are they taking me? Are we going to the Coliseum or what?” Shirreffs said about Baeza’s behavior on the walkover. “Some horses like to be a little prancy, it’s not always a negative thing.”
Trainer Brad Cox said “not at the moment” when asked if Final Gambit, who rallied from last to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby, or Bathhouse Row Stakes winner Instant Replay is under consideration for the Preakness.
Owen Almighty, who ran a credible fifth in the Derby, is likely to cut back to a race like the Grade 1 Woody Stephens on Belmont Stakes Day, trainer Brian Lynch said.
Burnham Square, sixth in the Derby, ran into significant traffic nearing the half-mile pole, which hampered him, trainer Ian Wilkes said.
“I’m not saying where we would have finished, but we would have been a lot closer,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes ruled out the Preakness for Burnham Square, who is a gelding.
Sandman, the 5-1 second choice in the Derby, finished seventh beaten 12 1/2 lengths. Trainer Mark Casse said jockey Jose Ortiz told him he didn’t handle the wet track. Casse said he most likely will point to the Belmont, but left the door slightly open for the Preakness.
“More than likely Belmont, but crazier things have happened,” Casse said.
On Monday, trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed that American Promise, 16th in the Kentucky Derby, would run in the Preakness. Lukas believes things tightened up on American Promise when he tried to split Citizen Bull and Neoequos at the half-mile pole. Lukas has won the Preakness seven times, including last year with Seize the Grey.
Aside from American Promise, it is not expected that any of the other horses who finished eighth through 19th in the Derby would run in Baltimore.
Horses who did not run in the Kentucky Derby that are pointing to the Preakness are Clever Again, winner of the Hot Springs Stakes; Heart of Honor, runner-up to Admire Daytona in the U.A.E. Derby; Gosger, winner of the Lexington Stakes; Pay Billy, winner of the Federico Tesio Stakes; Rodriguez, the Wood Memorial winner who scratched out of the Derby with a foot issue; and River Thames, the third-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes.
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