Sovereignty returned to the track and Mott keeps the Breeders’ Cup dream alive

The 2025 Horse of the Year returned to track work at Saratoga following a foot abscess that sidelined him from the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). Should he manage to regain a normal training routine, Bill Mott will attempt to send him straight to the $7,000,000 Classic at Keeneland

ELMONT, New York (Special for Turf Diario).— Sovereignty will not be part of Belmont Park's reopening this Friday, but the news emerging from Saratoga allows for a glimmer of restored optimism following his absence. The champion returned to the track, and Bill Mott keeps open the possibility of pointing him straight toward the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)—his major remaining objective for 2026.

The 2025 Horse of the Year in the United States completed light exercise on Tuesday and Wednesday, taking his first steps on the track following a foot abscess that ultimately forced him to miss the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1).

“He was jogging yesterday and today. Everything looked good,” Mott explained Thursday morning at Belmont Park. “Maybe he’ll start galloping real soon. We’ll test him out bit by bit, doing a little more each time.”

Caution remains logical. Sovereignty was entering the physical setback in the midst of one of the finest runs of his career. On August 8, he put on a dominant display to capture the Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, and his entire preparation since had been geared toward the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

However, on September 4, Mott reported the emergence of the abscess, and the colt ended up spending roughly 12 days away from track work. That lost time made it impossible to reach the Belmont assignment in proper order.

Now, the challenge will be to progressively resume training and ensure the issue is firmly in the rearview mirror. If he manages to establish a normal routine, Mott intends to skip any prep race and target the $7,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland directly.

The storyline also carries a precedent that counsels prudence. Sovereignty had also been scheduled to contest the Classic in 2025, but a fever ultimately ruled him out. One year later, another physical complication altered his preparation in the weeks leading up to the main event, though this time there remains enough margin to get him back on track.

Mott, full of praise for Forever Young

The absence of Sovereignty also scuttled the anticipated showdown against Forever Young, who looms as the headliner in the Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Mott met on Thursday at Belmont with Yoshito Yahagi, trainer of the Japanese champion, and spared no praise for a horse whose international campaign he considers extraordinary.

“What he’s done traveling is incredible,” he noted. “The different situations he’s been in... He’s an incredible horse. They weren’t afraid to take him to Japan, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, the United States—he’s been everywhere. You can’t do that with every horse, because the travel alone wears them down. He’s a very tough horse.”

Forever Young has won 11 of his 15 starts and accumulated over $31,000,000 in earnings, boasting victories in Japan, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

Last year, he reached international coronation by winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar, and this Friday he will be the heavy favorite at Belmont, where Mott will be represented by Baeza (McKinzie) and Stars and Stripes(Not This Time).

The veteran trainer's accolades carry even greater weight given his own experience with a globetrotting champion capable of sustaining peak form over time.

Between 1995 and 1996, Mott guided the unforgettable career of Cigar (Palace Music), campaigning him across various venues in the United States and taking him to Dubai, where in 1996 he won the inaugural running of the Dubai World Cup (G1).

He understands, then, just how demanding it is to keep a horse competitive while constantly changing environments.

“Champions are determined over the test of time,” he reflected. “And considering what time means in the life of a racehorse, Forever Young is doing pretty well.”

Friday will see no clash between the two. Forever Young has the Jockey Club Gold Cup ahead of him while Sovereignty slowly regains ground in Saratoga.

Yet the prospect of their meeting remains very much alive. If the foot holds up, Sovereignty regains his training rhythm, and Mott manages to take him straight to Keeneland, the Breeders’ Cup Classic may finally deliver the showdown that Belmont missed out on.