Breeders' Cup Classic Contender: Sovereignty
It’s almost time for my favorite racing event of the year- The Breeders’ Cup. The two day event at Del Mar will begin on October 31st and the Breeders’ Cup Classic will take place on November 1st. When the fields are announced, I will give my analysis and breakdown for each Breeders’ Cup race, but for now, I will be giving an early highlight of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic horses.
For those who are new to horse racing: What is the Breeders’ Cup Classic?
The Classic is one of the biggest races in North American dirt racing: A 1¼ mile race on dirt, attracting the top older horses and three-year-olds.
It’s part of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, set for Nov. 1, 2025, at Del Mar.
Obviously, it is early and no entries are confirmed for the race just yet, but the horses you have seen in all the rankings and those in recent form point to several horses who appear primed, or at least strongly in the conversation, for the Classic. Let’s take a look at the horse I will be highlighting today:
Sovereignty: The Bill Mott trained and Godolphin owned colt is the leading contender in most of the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic rankings. Deservingly so, as this 3 year old colt has had a historical 2025 campaign.
His 2025 campaign began with a victory in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, which gave him 50 Kentucky Derby points. His next race he finished 2nd in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, which earned him another 50 Kentucky Derby points. This would be his only loss of 2025 as he has gone on to win four straight races: The Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy, then his most recent win in the Travers Stakes in August by 10 lengths!
He has strong credentials and has shown consistency, and he is only getting better. I used to think he was just a come from behind closer, but has now shown his incredible ability to sit up closer to the pace, stalk, and use that big late kick to roll past horses in the stretch. I’ve loved this horse since his debut. After watching his first two maiden special weight races and seeing his gallop outs after the races, I’d figure (and many others who saw the same) he’d be tough to beat at any distances over a mile. I backed him in the Kentucky Derby, and I’ve backed him every race he’s ran. Personally, he’s been my favorite horse of 2025.
Sovereignty is the son of Into Mischief (Dam is Crowned by Bernardini). He is trained by Hall of Fame Trainer, Bill Mott, owned by Godolphin, and ridden by Junior Alvarado. He has a career record of 9 (6-2-0) with career earnings of $5,835,300. Interesting fact, Sovereignty never won a maiden special weight race. He broke his maiden in the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes.
More wins to come for him in the future. We will see if he continues his winning streak in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to cap off a monster 3 year old campaign.
-Chris