Sovereignty Continues Reign With Travers Romp

It's not unusual to hear a wealth of platitudes from winning connections after their horse is victorious. What carries more impact is when the people you've beaten tip their hats in respect. In this instance, it came after the 156th Travers Stakes (G1), when Sovereignty, the sport's top 3-year-old and leader for Horse of the Year honors, asserted his dominance by rolling to an utterly easy 10-length victory in the Aug. 23 Midsummer Derby at Saratoga Race Course. Among the Godolphin homebred son of Into Mischief's four rivals was the Steve Asmussen-trained Magnitude, the 7-2 second choice. Asmussen has trained Hall of Famers such as Rachel Alexandra, Gun Runner, and Curlin. He knows what an equine superstar looks like and he saw one Saturday in Sovereignty. "How good is he?" Asmussen said, "It's unbelievable. That sort of horse may be generational." That praise came after Sovereignty posted a fourth straight win in a fabulous streak that includes the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), Jim Dandy Stakes (G1), and now the Travers, securing Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott's first win in the Midsummer Derby. Each one a masterpiece, each one proof of how Sovereignty stands at the top of his crop, each one a reflection of the incredible job Mott has done in keeping the 3-year-old at peak form for nearly four months. "Coming from a great horseman like Steve, that's flattering. He's seen as many races as anyone," Mott said. "That's very classy." Michael Banahan, Godolphin's director of bloodstock, was equally impressed with the lofty words of praise from a rival. "We are so proud to be associated with Sovereignty," Banahan said after the fourth Travers win for Godolphin/Darley. "We have a great team looking after him, so we can get him to the right races in the best form. We respect someone like Steve Asmussen, who has trained some wonderful horses in his time. For him to say something like that means a lot. We're so glad to have a horse like him. We need horses like him for the good of our industry." The victory also meant the world to Mott, one of New York's best all-time trainers who had been 0-for-13 in the Travers until Saturday. "It's something I had been waiting on. I had two or three of them on my bucket list. One was the (Metropolitan Handicap, G1), and we got that done with (Godolphin's) Cody's Wish. The one that was left was the Travers. Now the only thing we have to do is try to come back and repeat. "Racing primarily in New York now," he added, "I mean, the Kentucky Derby was great, but I must say for me, I think the Travers is a great race to win. It's very satisfying and gratifying for me to get that done." In a year in which Sovereignty and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Journalism have battled at the top of the 3-year-old division in a remarkable rivalry, the final showdown could come Nov. 1 in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar when the two 3-year-olds could face the best older stars with Horse of the Year honors at stake. "The Travers was the midsummer goal for us, and achieving what he did today, the next logical spot to turn up is the Breeders' Cup Classic. As long as he is doing as well as Bill wants, that's where we'll end up," Banahan said. With Journalism staying on the West Coast, only four 3-year-olds turned out to face Sovereignty ($2.60), the huge 1-4 favorite. The main threat for the son of the Bernardini mare Crowned was Winchell Thoroughbreds' speedy Magnitude, a lopsided winner of the Iowa Derby and Risen Star Stakes (G2) in his last two starts. As expected, Magnitude and jockey Ben Curtis went for the lead from the rail but were tracked by Bracket Buster through fractions of :23.47 and :47.43. After a half-mile, jockey Junior Alvarado and Sovereignty were running comfortably in fourth, about two lengths off the lead. On the final turn, Magnitude began to back up, and BBN Racing's Bracket Buster surged to the front. "He jumped out of the gate, but he didn't drag his butt out there like he had been," Asmussen said about his son of Not This Time, who wound up third, 20 3/4 lengths behind. As Bracket Buster grabbed the lead, Alvarado had Sovereignty motoring four-wide, and in the stretch, it was no contest. By mid-stretch, the Godolphin superstar led by three lengths and easily extended that margin in claiming his third 10-furlong grade 1 win in 2:00.84. "When I turned for home, I kind of knew where I was standing with him. When I asked him, he went on very beautifully today," said Alvarado, who notched his first Travers win. "This is the horse of a lifetime. All my big wins come from him. I can't give thanks enough to the Godolphin people and Billy Mott for keeping their trust in me and letting me ride these beautiful horses." Victoria Oliver, trainer of 17-1 shot Bracket Buster, was proud of the effort turned in by her son of Vekoma. "He ran a big, big race," she said. "I think it's hard to say you have a shot against that horse, but turning for home, I thought we were going to run tough." The win was the sixth in nine starts for Sovereignty, who has now earned $5,835,300. Travers handle checks in at $54 million The total handle for the 14-race card at the Spa was $54,309,929. It marked a drop from the Travers record $63 million wagered a year ago. Paid attendance was 48,255.