Sovereignty Seeks Historic Travers Triumph For Mott At Saratoga

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – MAY 03: Sovereignty #18, ridden by jockey Junior Alvarado crosses the finish line to win the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 03, 2025 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Grace Bradley/Getty Images)

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All eyes will be on Sovereignty this Saturday as Godolphin’s dual Classic winner attempts to give Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott his first career victory in the $1.25 million Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

The 156th edition of the Travers, contested at 1 1/4 miles, headlines a blockbuster 14-race card featuring five Grade 1 races, including three Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers: the Forego (Dirt Mile), Ballerina (Filly & Mare Sprint), and Personal Ensign (Distaff). Also on tap are the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial and the Grade 2 Lake Placid. First post is 11:10 a.m. ET with gates opening at 9:00 a.m. Saratoga Live airs on FS2 at noon, with FOX covering Travers Day stakes action beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Sovereignty: The Horse to Beat

Sovereignty has reeled off three straight victories this season: the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and most recently the Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga on July 26. In the Jim Dandy, the Into Mischief colt overcame a tricky trip, rallying wide to edge Baeza by a length in 1:49.52.

Though his margin was narrower than in the Derby and Belmont, Mott believes Sovereignty is in top form.

“His record, people have watched him, it’s in black and white what he’s done,” Mott said. “Probably a well-known fact is that he is the horse to beat, but by the same token, they’ve got to go around there. They need to do it in the afternoon. It is not a done deal, that is why they are going to run the race.”

Junior Alvarado will once again ride Sovereignty, breaking from post 4 as the heavy 2-5 morning-line favorite. The Kentucky homebred boasts over $5.1 million in earnings and a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure from his Belmont triumph.

If successful, Sovereignty would join Twenty Grand (1931), Shut Out (1942), and Thunder Gulch (1995) as horses who captured the Kentucky Derby, Belmont, and Travers. Only Whirlaway (1941) has swept the Triple Crown plus Travers.

The Main Rivals

While Sovereignty towers over the field, several contenders will try to spoil the party:

• Magnitude (post 1, 2-1 ML, trainer Steve Asmussen, jockey Ben Curtis): A speedy front-runner, Magnitude enters off dominant gate-to-wire wins in the Risen Star (G2) and Iowa Derby, earning Beyers of 108 and 105. The son of Not This Time missed the Triple Crown with an ankle chip but looms the likely pacesetter. Asmussen seeks his second Travers after winning with Epicenter in 2022.
• Strategic Focus (post 3, 6-1 ML, trainer Chad Brown, jockey Flavien Prat): Lightly raced and improving, this $250,000 son of Gun Runner was a narrow third in the Curlin Stakes after briefly taking the lead. Blinkers go on in hopes of keeping him focused late. Brown, who just won his first Whitney with Sierra Leone, is aiming for his first Travers.
• McAfee (post 5, 20-1 ML, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr., jockey John Velazquez): Consistent in graded company, McAfee comes off a runner-up effort in the West Virginia Derby (G3). A half-brother to champion filly Thorpedo Anna, he will try to make his mark at a big price.
• Bracket Buster (post 2, 20-1 ML, trainer Victoria Oliver, jockey Luis Saez): Winner of the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth, Bracket Buster set the pace before fading to fourth in the Haskell (G1). Distance is the question, but Saez has twice won the Travers, including aboard Essential Quality in 2021.

History at Stake

Mott has started 13 horses in the Travers without a win, finishing second three times. A victory with Sovereignty would end that drought while etching the colt’s name among the all-time greats.

Still, the trainer knows Saratoga is never a sure thing.

“I think he looks very much like he did going into the Belmont,” said Mott in reference to the performance that earned a career and field-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure. “I’m sure people figure there are probably easier places to run. Not everybody is fleeing. There’s always somebody in there that can run… It is not a done deal.”

The 156th Travers Stakes (Race 13, post time approx. 6:14 p.m. ET) is shaping up as a classic showdown between Sovereignty’s brilliance and Saratoga’s history of upsets.

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