Jockey Junior Alvarado may have said it best after Sovereignty stormed to victory in the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday.
“This is the horse of a lifetime,’’ he said after Sovereignty overpowered four rivals in a 10-length tour de force performance in one of the fastest times in the storied history of the Travers.
Once Alvarado tipped Sovereignty to the outside at the quarter pole, the superstar colt powered past 17-1 longshot Bracket Buster and extended his lead with every stride in the stretch.
“Our horse just proved how good he was when he pulled away the last eighth of a mile,’’ Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “He’s pretty special.”
Yes he is! Sovereignty became the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers since Thunder Gulch in 1995. Owned by Godolphin, Sovereignty has now won four in a row and improved his earnings to more than $5.8 million. The Into Mischief colt also became the first horse to win the Derby, Belmont, Jim Dandy Stakes (G2), and Travers.
The margin of victory matches the fourth largest in Travers history and the winning time of 2:00.84 for 1 ¼ miles is the sixth-fastest in the 156-year history of the race.
The largest margin of victory is 22 lengths by Damascus in 1967; the fastest time is 1:59.36 by Arrogate in 2016.
With the smallest Travers field since Holy Bull beat four rivals in 1994, Sovereignty ($2.60) was sent off as the 3-10 favorite from post 4.
Magnitude sprinted out to grab the early lead with Bracket Buster in hot pursuit. Approaching the first turn, Sovereignty and Alvarado found themselves between horses in last, but a closeup last, as the field ran the first quarter in a moderate 23.47 seconds. Going down the backside, Alvarado moved Sovereignty to the outside and he edged closer to the leaders.
Bracket Buster took a brief lead approaching the quarter pole, but Sovereignty ranged up alongside at the top of stretch and matched strides until Alvarado turned him lose with an eighth-of-mile to go and it was all over.
Asked if he was looking for bigger and better things ahead for his latest star, Mott replied: “I don’t know how it gets much bigger than this ... but there’s the Breeders’ Cup at the end of the year, so we’ll have to consider that.’’
For Mott, who has trained some of racing’s biggest stars – Cigar and Cody’s Wish among them – this was his first Travers win. It was also Alvarado’s first Travers win.
“It's something I've been waiting on. I had two or three races on my bucket list, and one was the Met Mile which we got that done with Cody's Wish and the one that was left was the Travers. Now, the only thing to do is to try and come back and repeat. Those are some of the most important races.
“For me, racing primarily in New York now, 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 to get that done.”
Alvarado, who also rode Cody’s Wish, said: “This is my first Travers. To the Godolphin people, thank you. He was amazing today. He showed something maybe a little different. We got kind of boxed in a little bit between horses. I just didn’t want to go wide in the first turn. He handles everything I try with him. He just does it so professionally with no hesitation.”
Magnitude was another 10 ¾ lengths behind Bracket Buster in third, with McAfee 34 ½ lengths back in fourth, and Strategic Focus was eased in the final furlong.
Odds-on favorite Thorpedo Anna out-dueled 11-1 longshot Dorth Vader in the stretch and won by a nose, earning a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), the race she won last year to clinch Horse of the Year honors.
The victory in the $500,000 Personal Ensign came in Thorpedo Anna’s return to the races in Saratoga a year and a day after she took on the boys and was beaten a nose by Fierceness in the Travers Stakes (G1).
“She showed the heart of a champion down the lane to hold Dorth Vader off and be able to get her nose down at the wire. It’s why she’s Horse of the Year,’’ winning jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., said.
Trained by Kenny McPeek, 4-5 favorite Thorpedo Anna ($3.50) won for the fourth time in five starts in her 4-year-old campaign, with previous wins in the Azeri Stakes (G2) and the Apple Blossom (G1), followed by an unexpected seventh in the La Troienne Stakes (G1) and another win in the Fleur de Lis Stakes (G2).
Winning time for the 1 1/8 miles awas 1:49.18.
McPeek said he’d nominate Thorpedo Anna to the Spinster Stakes (G1) at Keeneland on Oct. 5 and the Delaware Handicap (G3) at Delaware Park on Sept. 28 against the boys. As for a run in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) rather than the BC Distaff, the trainer said: “We’re not going to worry about it now,’’ said McPeek.
Book’em Danno ($3.60) made a clean sweep of the sprints at Saratoga, capping it with a one-length victory over Scotland in the $500,000 Forego Stakes (G1) and earning a fees-paid, automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1).
The 4-year-old New Jersey bred gelding was bumped and stumbled a bit at the start, recovered nicely along the backstretch, took command a furlong out and fended off a closing Scotland.
Book’em Danno won the True North Stakes (G2) and the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes (G2) earlier at the Saratoga meet.
“Once I’d seen him pretty close turning for home, I knew he’d have his kick. He (jockey Paco Lopez) just gets along with him. He gets in the position I want him in all the time.”
Hope Road, ridden by Jose Ortiz for the first time, may have been tough to load into the gate, but came through with a two-length victory over Scylla in the $500,000 Ballerina Stakes (G1) to earn a fees-paid automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).
Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 4-year-old filly took the lead in the stretch and held on as the 2-1 favorite, returning $6.10 for the win and covering the 7 furlongs in 1:21.93. Hope Road's dam, Marley's Freedom, captured the Ballerina stakes herself in 2018.
“She ran really well. She ran how we were expecting her to run,’’ Baffert’s longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes said. “She jumped out of there well. She got in a good position, and she came running when she needed to, so we are very happy with her performance.”
Patch Adams ($7) was moved to the rail by jockey Luis Saez and edged a determined Captain Cook – at 20-1 the longest shot in the field – by a nose in the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.
The 5-2 favorite trained by Brad Cox defeated a field of sprinters, including a trio trained by Baffert – Barnes (third), Madaket Road (fifth), and Midland Money (sixth). Also in the field was Chancer McPatrick (fourth).
Winning time for the 7 furlongs was 1:21.61.
