Sovereignty’s main focus this summer is pretty straightforward: the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 23. After coming off wins at the 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, he made a strong comeback in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26. With jockey Junior Alvarado aboard, he kept up a steady early pace before taking charge in the stretch, completing the 1 1/8-mile race in 1:49.52 and fending off Baeza to secure the win by a length.

Trainer Bill Mott mentioned how relaxed the colt has been during his gallops and is planning just a couple of light workouts before aiming for the Travers, a race he hasn’t won yet in his Hall of Fame career. Sovereignty has now notched up four wins in five starts this year, and it looks like they’re hitting their stride at just the right time.

So, it looks like this year’s Travers field might have his main competitor, Sierra Leone, in the mix. Sierra Leone is also gearing up for the $1 million Grade 1 Whitney Stakes at Saratoga, which is a great last chance to make a mark before the Travers Stakes, according to Horse Racing Nation’s report. Sierra Leone, trained by Chad Brown, is the current Breeders’ Cup Classic champion.

In 2024, he earned the title of American Champion Three-year-old Male after beating Fierceness by 1 1/2 lengths in the Classic at Del Mar. Even though Sierra Leone didn’t quite hit the mark in his first two starts at four—a third in the New Orleans Classic and a close call in the Stephen Foster Stakes—Brown is still feeling good about his condition heading into the Whitney.

This race is also a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, so having Sierra Leone in the mix really amps up the importance of the Whitney Stakes. He leads an impressive group that features Fierceness (the winner of last year’s Travers), White Abarrio (who took home titles at the 2023 Breeders’ Cup and Whitney), and others—almost all of them millionaires in career earnings.

This makes the Whitney one of the most competitive and exciting editions we’ve seen in a while. If Sierra Leone manages to win the Travers Stakes, he would join a pretty exclusive club as just the eighth horse ever to take both the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. But Sovereignty’s strong mid-season performance could really throw a wrench in those plans. A certain horse racing analyst also highlights the form of Sovereignty.

Positive about Sovereignty’s upcoming races

November is in a few months, which means the Breeders’ Cup Classic is almost here! And guess what? The horse racing community already has its favorites for the current season. Absolutely, it’s Sovereignty! During a conversation between Peter Fornatale and analyst Jonathon Kinchen, Kinchen was asked about the rivalry between the 3-year-olds and the 4-year-olds in the Classic. He quickly highlighted Sovereignty’s impressive skills on the track.

The analyst said, “If Journalism and Sovereignty both grow up, wow, what a race we might be looking at in that Breeders’ Cup Classic. If you had to hold my feet to the fire right now, I would side with the three-year-olds. The reason being is Sovereignty is not too far off from a figure standpoint. And I think at a mile and a quarter with a lot of pace to run at, he’s going to have an advantage on Sierra Leone because Sierra Leone comes from so far out of it. He’s going to be close enough to Fierceness in that situation. And there’s still some upside for him to grow up a little bit.”

Kinchen really expressed how much he admires Sovereignty, pointing out that the colt has consistently shown his skills at the top level. He thinks Journalism has a good shot, but the colt is not quite on the same level as Sovereignty, especially considering how they’ve performed this season. Kinchen sparks interest by mentioning how both Journalism and Sovereignty can evolve over time, setting the stage for a fascinating potential clash. He thinks that if both three-year-olds keep improving, the Breeders’ Cup Classic could become an exciting face-off between them and the four-year-olds.