Sovereignty has abscess, could affect Gold Cup status
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Sovereignty has developed an abscess in his left hind foot that will force him to miss a workout this weekend and puts his status for the Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 18 at Belmont Park in jeopardy, trainer Bill Mott said Friday afternoon.
“That’s not been determined,” Mott said when asked if the abscess would prevent Sovereignty from running in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. “As Yogi Berra said, it’s difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”
Sovereignty had a strong gallop over the Oklahoma training track on Friday morning, a day that he might have otherwise worked. The abscess was noticed earlier than Friday morning.
“If things went well, I was going to postpone it till tomorrow,” Mott said Friday afternoon.
Mott said Sovereignty would miss a couple of days of training, but did not know how many. He said if he was able to get a workout into him next weekend, Sovereignty could potentially still make the Jockey Club Gold Cup, where he is expected to face Japanese and U.S. champion Forever Young.
“If I’m able to get a decent work in him, we could still be on,” Mott said.
Sovereignty, the 2025 Horse of the Year, lost his first two starts this year, but bounced back with a sensational 4 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Whitney on Aug. 8. He has worked twice since then.
Nominations for the Jockey Club Gold Cup were expected to close on Thursday. Others mentioned as possible to run include Phileas Fogg, Money Game and possibly Banishing.
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