2025 Kentucky Derby Winner
Sovereignty was the brilliant champion of 2025, a sleek bay colt who put together one of the finest classic seasons in modern racing history. He was foaled in February 2022, a son of the Kentucky Derby winner Constitution. He raced in the maroon and white silks of Godolphin, the international stable of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, and he was trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the great horseman finally getting his breakthrough year on the Triple Crown trail. Junior Alvarado rode him every step of the way.
Sovereignty built up his classic credentials in Florida with a powerful win in the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park and a strong second in the Florida Derby. He was overshadowed coming into the Kentucky Derby by the heavy favorite Journalism, but a sloppy Churchill Downs track on the first Saturday in May 2025 played right into his closing style. Under Junior Alvarado, Sovereignty rallied around the far turn, battled through the stretch with Journalism, and pulled away to win by a length and a half. The victory gave Bill Mott his first official Kentucky Derby trophy.
He was just getting started. Sovereignty skipped the Preakness Stakes to wait for the Belmont Stakes, which was held at Saratoga that year while Belmont Park was being rebuilt. There he met Journalism again and beat him by three lengths, becoming the first colt since Triple Crown winner Justify in 2018 to win two legs of the Triple Crown. The summer brought even more glory. Sovereignty captured the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, then rolled to a stunning ten length romp in the Travers Stakes, the Midsummer Derby, where he simply demolished the rest of the three year old crop.
His connections pointed for the Breeders' Cup Classic, but Sovereignty spiked a fever in the days before the race and was scratched. Bill Mott would not run him at less than his best. Even without that final race, the voters had seen enough. Sovereignty was named the 2025 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year by an overwhelming margin, with 201 of 220 first place votes. He stands today as the unquestioned champion of his year and one of the brightest stars Godolphin has ever campaigned in America.
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4” x 6” Full-Color Postcards
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