Another race, another statement by Sovereignty. This time, that statement was worth $1.2 million, as the horse that always finds a new gear in the final stretch just beat the competition at the 2025 Travers Stakes by 10 lengths. “If Sovereignty runs his race, everyone is going to be running for second,” Strategic Focus’s trainer Chad Brown said ahead of the race, and that’s exactly what happened.

Yet, the dominance that Sovereignty has become known for wasn’t the only highlight of the race. The 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion’s success at Saratoga proved that Bill Mott’s horse is a generational colt. Not only did the three-year-old give Mott his first Travers after three second-place finishes, but he also etched his and the 72-year-old’s names in horse history.

“SOVEREIGNTY reigns supreme!” the NYRA posted on X after the win. “He wins the @DraftKings Travers, giving Bill Mott & @JuniorandKellyA their first-ever Travers and becoming the first horse since 1995 to sweep the @KentuckyDerby, @BelmontStakes & Travers!” And it’s the last part that made this win historic. “He’s pretty special,” added the Hall of Fame trainer.

And why wouldn’t he? Sovereignty just became the first horse since Thunder Clutch achieved this feat in 1995. The only other horses to pull this feat off at the Graveyard of Champions are Twenty Grand (1931), Triple Crown winner Whirlaway (1941), and Shut Out (1942). Needless to say, the legendary trainer was over the moon after fulfilling a longtime goal.

“There were two or three races on my bucket list. The one that was left was the Travers,” said the two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. “I mean, the Kentucky Derby was great — but I must say, for me, the Travers is a great race to win…” the 72-year-old added. And guess what? Mott’s colt set another benchmark heading into the 2025 Breeders’ Cup.

Sovereignty sets the stage for the Breeders’ Cup

With some of the biggest races of the season, like the Triple Crown and now the Travers, behind us, the horse racing community is waiting for the grand end-of-year event that’s the Breeders’ Cup, and for good reason. Not only will fans get to see the best horses of the season go head-to-head, but they’re waiting to see who’ll get the last laugh in the epic seasonal rivalry between Journalism and Sovereignty.

However, with the Travers performance, the “horse of a lifetime,” as Bill Mott called him, has set another benchmark. Besides winning the 156th edition of the Travers Stakes, Sovereignty has also equaled the fifth fastest time in the race’s history. Crossing the wire at 2:0.84 minutes, the colt tied Easy Goer’s 1989 time. Naturally, jockey Junior Alvarado was delighted with the result.

“I can’t believe how many firsts we have this year,” said the colt’s rider as their massively successful season continues. “He was just traveling beautiful,” Alvarado explained, making it clear that Sovereignty is still fresh this late in the season. So it’s safe to say that Sovereignty’s rivals, including Journalism, have their work cut out for them.

Meanwhile, despite staying away from competition since winning the Haskell Stakes, Journalism’s been turning heads during practice. On August 16, the Preakness Stakes champion went four furlongs in flat 48:00, which was faster than the previous 48:40 run. So, it looks like this year’s Breeders’ Cup is truly shaping up to be quite exciting.