“I was 100% confident of what I had underneath of me,” jockey Junior Alvarado knew Sovereignty wouldn’t let him down by any means. The Venezuelan wasn’t wrong. As the 2-5 morning line favorite, the son of Into Mischief left Baeza in the dust by a length to win the 2025 Jim Dandy on Saturday. But Bill Mott had his reservations.

The Hall of Fame horse racing trainer is no stranger to winning high-stakes competitions. With this year’s Jim Dandy having only a five-horse field, Mott probably was feeling reasonably confident about Sovereignty’s chances of winning the Grade II race. However, any connoisseur of the sport knows things can change in the blink of an eye. “They’ve got to hang those numbers up and say official,” the celebrity trainer said before the weekend event. While he might be feeling relieved now, Mott did hold his breath, but he isn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve.

An article by Thoroughbred Daily News from July 27 shared how Sovereignty’s trainer was feeling squeamish before Saturday’s G2 race, but wasn’t up for talking about it too much. The most significant thing that caused the stir was the fact that the Jim Dandy is run over 1 1/8 miles, while Sovereignty has carved out his legacy over 1 1/4 miles, winning both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes.

Moreover, with the 3-year-old colt previously having lost the 2025 Florida Derby earlier this year, which is also a 1 1/8 mile race, but Mott wasn’t really bothered about that. “I looked at that, but, no, that wasn’t really my biggest concern. Now, you’re going to ask ‘What was your biggest concern?’ I don’t know if I am going to reveal that,” Mott was quoted as telling the reporters after the weekend victory, while also noting that he wasn’t “panicking” over the length of the Saratoga racecourse.

Despite the Kentucky thoroughbred fumbling at the Florida Derby, while having hands on deck for the 151st Kentucky Derby, fans remained steadfast in the hope of seeing the Belmont Stakes winner coming through in Saratoga. Maybe that’s what helped the HoF trainer keep up his smile despite all the pressure.

With the latest victory, Sovereignty now posts five wins in his seven starts. Yet, Mott’s celebration only involved a couple of hamburgers and an early bedtime. Maybe a bigger celebration will be on the cards should he win the next big race on his bucket list. On August 23, at the Spa, the Travers will descend to entertain the horse racing fans, and Mott has a special reason to look forward to the race.

“We are trying to get ready for the Travers and that is the main objective for everybody, I think. The Mid-Summer Derby, I think the Travers is important to me. It is a race I’ve never won, and I’d really like to win it before I check out,” Bill told NYRA on Saturday. However, the Travers might not be the place where Mott and Sovereignty get their rematch against a familiar foe.

Sovereignty may not get the chance to follow up on his victory against Journalism

The 2025 horse racing season so far has been scintillating, to say the least. Among other things, Sovereignty’s meteoric rise to stardom is quite possibly the biggest thing for the fans to drool over in recent years. In this year’s Kentucky Derby, the Bill Mott-trained horse bagged a thrilling win by defeating favorite Journalism, but sat out the middle jewel of the Triple Crown and deprived the community of a rematch. The two next met at the Belmont Stakes, where Alvarado once again rode Sovereignty to glory.

While Mott’s horse won the Jim Dandy, Journalism showed the world that he isn’t to be discounted by winning the G1 Haskell Stakes on July 19. Naturally, fans can’t wait to see the next chapter of this nail-biting rivalry. Sadly, though, the Mid-summer Derby might not be the place where that happens. Journalism is most likely to sit out the race at the Spa in order to focus on the Breeders’ Cup later this year.

But fret not, horse racing fans. There will be enough to satiate your needs. While Journalism won’t be there, Baeza may once again return to challenge Sovereignty. The third-place finisher at both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes kept breathing down on Alvarado and his partner’s shoulders at every race they competed together. Moreover, Bob Baffert, the legendary trainer, has also expressed his desire to enter the Travers on August 23.