SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Following a slow workout last week that may have been more a by-product of track condition than anything else, Sovereignty, the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, picked up the pace Friday morning, working a half-mile in 48.68 seconds over the Oklahoma training track in preparation for an expected start in the Grade 2, $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes here on July 26. With exercise rider Neil Poznansky aboard, Sovereignty started about a length in front of workmate Jefferson Street, going his first quarter in 24.56 seconds. Jefferson Street came outside of Sovereignty turning into the stretch and Sovereignty came home in 24.12 seconds, finishing about a length in front of Jefferson Street at the wire. The work came one week after Sovereignty breezed a half-mile in a slow 51.27 seconds by himself over an Oklahoma training track that was producing lackluster times. “I didn’t want them head and head because they’re going to go too fast,” said trainer Bill Mott, explaining the manner in which Friday’s work was done. “I didn’t want the other horse joining him until they turned into the stretch, I just wanted something for him to finish with. I just figured he had one easy one, just pick it up a little bit today.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Sovereignty has time for two more workouts. Provided they go well, he is expected to run in the Jim Dandy as a stepping-stone to the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes here on Aug. 23. “If we’re able to do a little breeze every week, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be ready,” Mott said. Sovereignty has raced four times this year, winning the Fountain of Youth on March 1, followed by a second-place finish to Tappan Street in the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29. He won the Kentucky Derby on May 3 and skipped the Preakness two weeks later before winning the Belmont Stakes on June 7. Mott said Sovereignty has handled everything with aplomb. “He happens to be one of the horses that kind of handles everything we throw at him. We try not to overdo it,” Mott said. “Everything we’ve done, he takes it very well. He comes back and eats well and feels good – that’s the way it’s been so far. Some horses, you breeze them, they back out of the tub. He’s been looking for more.” Baeza, third in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, worked six furlongs in 1:11.40 at Santa Anita on Friday morning. Trainer John Shirreffs has said he is targeting the Jim Dandy and Travers. Others known to be heading to the Jim Dandy are Sandman, the Arkansas Derby winner, and Hill Road, the Peter Pan Stakes winner. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.