Sovereignty takes step toward Breeders' Cup Classic with half-mile move

Sovereignty, the reigning Horse of the Year who missed a scheduled start in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sept. 18 at Belmont Park due to a foot abscess, returned to the work tab Friday in Saratoga, hopefully his first steps toward a start in the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.

Saratoga track clockers timed Sovereignty in splits of 24.40 seconds and 49.40, going in company with his regular workmate Thunder Roll over the Oklahoma training track.

“Looked great, just cruising,” Mott said of the work. “Anytime you’re dealing with something like [the abscess], it’s a day-to-day situation but everything looked good. We’ve got plenty of time. We should be able to get everything we need.”

The half-mile move was Sovereignty’s first since Aug. 28. Sovereignty, who won the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga impressively on Aug. 8, was preparing for the Jockey Club Gold Cup when he popped an abscess in a hind foot that forced him to miss about 12 days of training.

Trainer Bill Mott said that Sovereignty returned to the track Sept. 16 and jogged for a few days before galloping leading up to his Friday workout.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.