Sovereignty, Golden Tempo to Meet in Stellar BC Classic

"The two Derby winners hit the wire together!" Those were the famed words of the legendary Tom Durkin as 1986 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Ferdinand edged out 1987 Derby winner Alysheba in a thrilling 1987 edition of the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). However, there has not been a chance for any announcer in any race since the 1991 Breeders' Cup Classic to even consider such a phrase. Finally, after all these years, NBC Sports' Larry Collmus and Keeneland's Kurt Becker will have that opportunity as 2025 Derby winner Sovereignty and 2026 Derby winner Golden Tempo meet in this year's star-studded $7 million Classic. "I'm glad to be part of it, I'm glad Sovereignty is part of it," Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said about the first meeting of Derby winners since Unbridled and Strike the Gold finished third and fifth, respectively, in that 1991 Classic. "He was the horse that won Godolphin's first Derby, and they're looking for a Breeders' Cup Classic win." "I think it's great," said Cherie DeVaux, Golden Tempo's history-making trainer. "The world knows about Sovereignty and Golden Tempo. To have those two out there, I think it's great for our sport and our industry in growing our fanbase." Helping boost the star power of the race from the Triple Crown is this year's Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Napoleon Solo. Further, the 1 1/4-mile test also showcases the unique face-off of the reigning American Horse of the Year Sovereignty, and the reigning Japan Racing Association Horse of the Year Forever Young (JPN). Forever Young is joined from Japan by T O Password (JPN), and Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Magnitude has performed at the highest level for audiences domestically and abroad. The Puma brings Venezuela into the mix through his connections, and Sovereignty's Godolphin-owned stablemate Knightsbridge adds the intrigue of a new shooter to the division. Moral of the story: the storylines and matchups have no end to their excitement, and the racing world at large is in for a treat Oct. 31 at Keeneland. The Battle of Ages In addition to being Derby winners to face off, Sovereignty and Golden Tempo represent the battle of the generations in this year's Classic. As in most years, the Classic serves as one of the first opportunities to gauge where the 3-year-olds stack up against older horses. In 2024, the 3-year-olds were the kings as they swept the Classic's trifecta. Then, in 2025, it was the previous year's 3-year-olds who were then 4 that dominated. Forever Young was part of both, finishing third in 2024 and winning the Classic in 2025. That makes Saturday's race an opportunity for history as Susumu Fujita's son of Real Steel (JPN) seeks to become the first two-time winner of the race since Tiznow in 2000-01. Unlike his previous two Classic attempts where he prepped in Japan, trainer Yoshito Yahagi opted to send Forever Young to America early and compete in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) Sept. 18 at Belmont Park. He won by open lengths against three overmatched rivals, and finished in good time, but Yahagi expressed not being satisfied with the way the 5-year-old ran when he was "80%" fit off a six-month layoff. "He had the big spell (of time off) and we will target the Breeders' Cup Classic," Yahagi said after the Gold Cup. "Of course, I am 100% satisfied with winning the race, but performance-wise, I am only 50% satisfied. We will try to improve for the next race." When Forever Young won the Classic last year, the 3-year-olds were missing a key star on their team in Sovereignty, who was favored but had to scratch with an illness. Where most 3-year-olds with the Horse of the Year-winning résumé Sovereignty had last year would have retired to stud, the Godolphin team felt the job was unfinished and returned the Into Mischief colt to training specifically to win the Classic. "I really believe that the reason he's back in training is to let him have the opportunity to prove how good he really is," Mott said. "No better place to showcase that than the Breeders' Cup Classic." Sovereignty's season has been filled with ups and downs, but his dominant win over a stellar field in the Aug. 8 Whitney Stakes (G1) showed he is still the king of the American runners until someone takes his throne. However, once again, Sovereignty has had an unsteady road leading into the Classic. A foot abscess caused him to miss a matchup with Forever Young in the Gold Cup and he has been training in a bar shoe on his left hind foot, which will be removed for race day. However, following Sovereignty's final work Oct. 25, Mott's concerns are diminishing. "If you ask me, would I have done anything differently or if I would have liked to have one more work: no," Mott said. "As we stand here on Sunday morning six days before the race, I'm happy." Should Forever Young, Sovereignty, and the rest of the older horses be on their game, their strength could be too much for the younger 3-year-olds. But what does it take for a 3-year-old to beat the older horses? "It's a combination of having the talent and being mature enough at this point," theorized Gustavo Delgado Jr., The Puma's assistant trainer for his dad, Gustavo Delgado Sr. "Those horses have the experience, but at the same time, you just stick to your running style, I would say. Then hope that the race develops and racing luck turns in your favor. "You don't see much pace collapse when these good horses are already used to going a mile and a quarter. You see it in the (Kentucky) Derby because they're not used to it, but these good horses already know where the wire is. You don't expect them to come back to you like you expect in the Derby or Derby preps. Right now, you have to run—get out running, keep running, and finish running." The Puma is a runner who would benefit from a pace collapse as his biggest successes have come from behind. The Delgados took a step toward turning luck in the Essential Quality colt's favor in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) by adding blinkers, and he made a more sustained and focused run that led to victory for the partnership of OGMA Investments, Saleh Al Otaibi, High Step Racing, TCC Stables, YNG Stables, and JR Ranch. Golden Tempo is another deep closer, and his victory in the Derby, getting up in the final strides, may lead some to believe that the pace collapse would be his only opportunity. However, the Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable homebred son of Curlin made the move earlier in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and had reached the leaders by the top of the stretch, sustaining that run to outduel Commandment for the win. Never off-the-board in seven starts, Golden Tempo's closing run up the inside did not get the job done in the Travers Stakes (G1), but it did inspire confidence that the run will come no matter what. "He has to move forward, and he's done that in every race," DeVaux said of the colt's chances for winning the Classic. "Even in defeat in the Travers, he didn't regress on speed figures. He's going to have to continue that, and that just comes with racing and age and condition. He's not reached his top, and all signs point that he's continuing on that trajectory." The Pace Contenders Although the connections of Sovereignty, Golden Tempo, and The Puma are prepared if the pace does not collapse, the pace will certainly be fast thanks to the speed of Napoleon Solo, Magnitude, and Knightsbridge. The pace could hinge on the decisions made by Hall of Famer John Velazquez aboard Espoir USA's Napoleon Solo. Since his 2-year-old season, the son of Liam's Map has been pegged as a straight speedball. Yet, his biggest career win in the Preakness displayed an ability to stalk the pace and be successful. His trainer, Chad Summers, does not believe the colt needs the lead. "He's not a horse that needs the lead; he's a horse who is naturally fast," Summers said. "I feel like he's been beat sometimes going those three-quarters in 1:12 and change. I would very much like to be off of a 1:10, but if they go 1:12 and change, he'll be in front." Another horse who has been pushed into the box of a need-the-lead type despite having won from off the pace before is Winchell Thoroughbreds' Magnitude. That reputation for this Classic is based on the fact he was able to best Forever Young and Sovereignty in races this year while setting the pace, while when he was challenged and forced to rate in the Whitney, he threw in the towel on the far turn and lost by 15 1/4 lengths. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen is hopeful that the Whitney is an outlier given the two worst beats of his career have both come at Saratoga Race Course. Immediately following the Whitney, he devised a game plan to work into the Classic and get the Not This Time 4-year-old to Keeneland early. "I'm extremely excited with how he's training at Keeneland," Asmussen said. "He seems to love the surface and the weather has been ideal this fall, and the horse has responded." The final pace contender is the rising Knightsbridge, who had been a 7-furlong and 1-mile runner for his entire career up until July when Mott and Godolphin went on a fact-finding mission in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Cup Stakes (G3). The 5-year-old Nyquist homebred's two starts around two turns have been won by a combined 16 1/2 lengths, recently dueling through fast early fractions before drawing off to win the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) in his first 1 1/4-mile test, albeit against a field that was not the most proven at the distance. "That he was able to shake loose from the fast fractions," Mott said of what he liked about the Pacific Classic win. "We all understand that we've now got four horses that are proven at a mile and a quarter. It's not going to be the same journey that he had in the Pacific Classic. But, by the same token, I don't think you can throw him out." Tomoya Ozasa's T O Password serves as the field's wild card. American racing fans should recall how he entered the 2024 Kentucky Derby undefeated off three pace-setting victories, but broke poorly in the Derby, got dirt kicked in his face for the first time, and still rallied from 17th to finish fifth. He has continued to be a stakes performer in Japan since, and trainer Daisuke Takayanagi shows confidence entering the son of Copano Rickey (JPN) in the Classic despite having pre-entered for the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) as his first preference.