August 23, 2025. That’s when Saratoga Race Course will host the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes. But here’s the thing: if you’re hoping for an open, unpredictable race, you might be out of luck. Sovereignty, the horse everyone’s been talking about all season, is back in training and looking better than ever. This isn’t just hype; it’s a serious warning to anyone who thinks they can take him down.

Just two weeks after his win in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, Sovereignty got back to work on August 9 with a strong breeze over Saratoga’s Oklahoma Training Track. The son of Into Mischief, trained by Bill Mott’s assistant Neil Poznansky, clocked four furlongs in a solid 48.89 seconds. What really caught people’s attention was how he ran: quick and confident, hitting a first quarter in 24.28 seconds and a second in 24.36, finishing five furlongs in just over a minute. And he did all this solo, without a pony to pace him. And seeing all this,  Mary Eddy, a respected insider, shared a video of the workout.

They captioned it, “Dual Classic-winner SOVEREIGNTY tunes up for the G1 Travers with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma training track. NYRA clockers caught him in 48 4/5, out in 1:02 and 2/5.” That kind of sharp timing confirms what everyone’s feeling: Sovereignty is locked in. But then came the real kicker. Brian Zipse, one of the top voices in horse racing and known on X as @Zipseatthetrack, didn’t hold back. He tweeted, “This is a little scary. Sovereignty looks even better now than he did this spring. I cannot advocate playing a 1-5 shot in the Travers, but I honestly don’t know how they beat him.” When an expert drops a line like that, you know this horse means business.

Sovereignty has already shown he can win the biggest races: the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and now the Jim Dandy. For everyone else lining up at Saratoga, this is a serious reality check. Can anyone step up and challenge a horse that looks nearly unbeatable right now? At this moment, it certainly doesn’t seem likely, but there are challengers strong enough to create some problems.

Potential threats to Sovereignty’s reign at the Travers

Against Sovereignty, a strong group of contenders might line up in the 2025 Travers Stakes. Though officials haven’t finalized the field yet, these horses will challenge him. Ian R. Wilkes trains Burnham Square, who finished fifth in the 2025 Haskell Stakes and will probably start. Bob Baffert trains Goal Oriented, who placed third in the same race and will likely run, with Irad Ortiz Jr. expected to ride. Magnitude, who crushed the Iowa Derby by 9¼ lengths under trainer Steven M. Asmussen, is another top contender shipping in from Saratoga.

Other possible challengers include Journalism, winner of the Haskell Stakes; Gosger, runner-up in both the Preakness and Haskell; Baeza, second in the Jim Dandy; Sandman; Curlin Stakes winner Chancer McPatrick; Nevada Beach, winner of the Los Alamitos Derby; and Captain Cook. Each brings strong credentials and hopes of upsetting Sovereignty’s dominant run. But before Sovereignty’s training on August 9, Magnitude posted an impressive five-furlong work in 1:01.22 on Saratoga’s main track.

Strategic Focus, third in the Curlin Stakes, worked a quick half-mile with blinkers on alongside multiple Grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick, who plans to focus on a shorter race later in August. Gosger also worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 at Churchill Downs, though his participation in the Travers remains uncertain. With top jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. expected to ride Goal Oriented and several contenders hitting peak form, the Travers Stakes could prove to be a tough test for Sovereignty.