SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - With an eye on the Travers and beyond, a less-than-fully-cranked Sovereignty still showed he’s the best 3-year-old in America with a solid one-length victory over Baeza in Saturday’s Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga.
Showing the same early speed he did in the Belmont Stakes, and a similar closing kick that he’s displayed in most of his races - most notably the Kentucky Derby - Sovereignty set himself up for what trainer Bill Mott hopes will be his first victory in the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on Aug. 23.
“I was glad to see him win,” Mott said. “We’re trying to get ready for the Travers, that’s the main objective for everybody. I think the Travers is important to me. It’s a race I've never won, and I’d really like to win it.”
Mott has never brought a horse like Sovereignty to the Travers. From his victory in last year’s Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs through this year’s Triple Crown prep season and the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty was pigeonholed as a one-run closer.
In the Belmont Stakes, Sovereignty was up close to a modest pace, dropped back, let main rival Journalism go, before blowing past him to win by three lengths.
In Saturday’s Jim Dandy, a race that many felt was void of speed, Sovereignty put Junior Alvarado right into the game, sitting one length off Mo Plex early. Baeza, ridden for forward position by Hector Berrios, moved his horse into second down the backside. For a few strides approaching the half-mile pole, Sovereignty was last.
By the quarter pole, he was widest of all and outside of Baeza, the pair ready to overtake Mo Plex, who, after stumbling at the start, had set modest fractions of 24.54 seconds for the quarter, 48.49 for the half and 1:12.42 for six furlongs.
Sovereignty and Baeza ran together to the sixteenth pole, when Sovereignty began to edge away and win by one length. It was 9 1/4 lengths back to Hill Road, who nosed out Mo Plex for third. Sandman, newly blinkered, finished last of five.
Sovereignty, a son of Into Mischief owned and bred by Godolphin Racing, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.52 and returned $3 as the heavy favorite.
“We did what we wanted to do, he won the way we wanted, without really getting the best of him and getting too much to the bottom and he responded,” Alvarado said.
Alvarado said he felt he used only 75 to 80 percent of Sovereignty, who hadn’t raced in the seven weeks since the Belmont. Alvarado said he had no concerns when he was last going into the far turn.
“I have 100 percent confidence, I knew what I had underneath me, I’m not going to say I was playing with them, I was just doing what I needed to do to win the race,” Alvarado said.
Alvarado said that Sovereignty was more aggressive early in the Jim Dandy than he was even in the Belmont.
“He put himself there right away, which is very lovely, you can get forward position and get out of trouble right away,” Alvarado said.
Baeza has finished third to Sovereignty in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, rallying from well off the pace. Saturday, jockey Hector Berrios, who had been on Baeza for his maiden victory, had his horse a length or so off the pace.
“I wanted to go to the lead,” Berrios said. “[Mo Plex] was more fast.”
Berrios also felt his horse lacked focus.
“My horse [was] not tired, he didn’t focus in the race,” Berrios said. “He’s green. He needs more distance.”
There will be more distance in the Travers, like the Kentucky Derby and this year’s Belmont Stakes, will be run at 1 1/4 miles.
But, there will also be more of Sovereignty.
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