It may not match Alydar vs. Affirmed in terms of racing's greatest all-time rivalries. But what happened June 7th in the 157th Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course brought a large dose of excitement back to the final leg of the Triple Crown.
The second meeting between Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Sovereignty and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Journalism, who finished second in the Derby, injected the kind of excitement into the Belmont Stakes it has not seen since 2018 when Justify became the 13th Triple Crown champion.
And "The Test of the Champion" lived up to expectations and then some as a crowd of 46,243 enthusiastically watched Sovereignty again beat second-place Journalism to the wire with Baeza finishing third in an encore of his placing in the Kentucky Derby.
"It's been a fantastic five weeks," said Michael McCarthy, who trains Journalism.
So fantastic that, with both 3-year-olds exiting the Belmont in good shape, there's already high interest for a rematch, with the most likely meeting spots being the Aug. 23 Travers Stakes (G1) back at the Spa and the Nov. 1 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar in Journalism's part of the racing world, Southern California.
Sovereignty's trainer Bill Mott said Godolphin's homebred son of Into Mischief would be pointed to the Travers with a prep race in the July 26 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at the Spa a possibility.
"Running in the Jim Dandy is always a possibility anytime you have a break and plan on running in the Travers," Mott said, "The Jim Dandy is a natural flow into the Travers, being on the same track."
McCarthy said "everything is in play," for Journalism.
"We'll go back home (to California) for a few weeks and we'll come up with a game plan," he added. "Obviously I have a lot respect for (Sovereignty's) connections, so wherever they meet up again I hope both horses are doing as well as they could be doing, and we'll see what happens. We've had away games for the last five weeks, so maybe if we both get to the Breeders' Cup in good order and it's in our backyard, maybe it suits us a little better."
Though Sovereignty recorded a wider margin of victory in the Belmont Stakes than the Kentucky Derby (three lengths as opposed to 1 1/2 lengths in the Derby), the top two also added more distance to the difference between them and the rest of the field. Journalism was only a neck ahead of Baeza in the Kentucky Derby but had 3 1/2 lengths on him in the Belmont. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Wood Memorial Stakes (G2) winner Rodriguez in fourth.
John Shirreffs, trainer of Baeza, said the McKinzie colt came out of the race in good shape and his next race will be decided "later."
Given how rare rivalries have become in this era, the prospect of a Round Three between these classic winners should maintain widespread attention on the 3-year-old division, even though the Triple Crown season has ended.
"I think anybody who enjoys and appreciates racing, they like seeing it," Mott said about the rivalry. "It's two very good horses who have come together twice. The outcome has been the same both times but they have still been 1-2 and out-finished everybody else. Sovereignty has won over his share of fans and I'm sure Journalism, being the good horse that he is, is going to have plenty of followers who will stay with him."
Journalism, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta, breeder Don Alberto Stable, Elayne Stables 5, and partners affiliated with Coolmore, had a sensational Triple Crown season as the son of Curlin showed how a quality 3-year-old can compete in all three legs of the Triple Crown and still be in top form for the Belmont.
While Sovereignty will be remembered as the star of the 2025 Triple Crown season, Journalism gave the sport an awesome moment that will be long remembered when he powered between horses at the top of the stretch and then made up five lengths on Gosger in the final furlong to capture the Preakness.
"A lot of it was great," McCarthy said. "The last 20 seconds in Maryland was something not many people saw before and they might not see again. That was a performance for the ages and obviously very special. The five weeks have been very rewarding and very fulfilling."
And they also reminded everyone of how much fun a Triple Crown can be.
