Sovereignty tunes up for G1 DraftKings Travers with half-mile breeze
At 0h02, on August 10, 2025 • By Saratoga Race Course
Godolphin’s dual Classic-winner Sovereignty returned to the work tab on Saturday over Saratoga Race Course’s Oklahoma dirt training track for the first time since a one-length win in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on July 26. The bay colt is targeting the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on August 23 at the Spa.
Guided through the exercise by Neil Poznansky, Sovereignty hit the track around 7:30 a.m. and was escorted clockwise around the oval by his Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott aboard his pony Rocky, and stood on the backstretch for a few minutes. He then broke off to work a solo half-mile in 48.89 seconds, with NYRA clockers catching him galloping out five furlongs in 1:02 2/5.
Sovereignty returned to Mott’s stable and was met by a flock of reporters and photographers, who looked on as the son of Into Mischief was bathed by an armada of eager grooms and enjoyed his daily carrots from devoted longtime stable employee Erma Scott.
Mott, who still sat atop Rocky watching the media action from afar, said the positive feedback from 1996 Eclipse Award-winning Apprentice Jockey Poznansky was enough for him.
“It looked like he felt good,” Mott said. “He was ready to do something. It’s what I wanted to see, and [so was] the feedback I got from Neil. That’s the most important thing – the guy who’s in the middle of it.”
Sovereignty, who leads the sophomore division in earnings with more than $5 million banked this year, seeks to add the Travers to a resume that includes wins in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, as well as the Grade 3 Street Sense as a maiden last year and the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth in March at Gulfstream Park.
Currently, Sovereignty and Grade 1 Preakness and Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell-winner Journalism are the leading contenders in this division, with both colts boasting four wins this year. Sovereignty has defeated Journalism on both occasions they have met as Journalism landed second in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont.
