SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Sovereignty, the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby-winner, takes on Grade 1 Preakness-victor and Derby runner-up Journalism, among the field of eight sophomores in Saturday’s 157th running of the Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, at Saratoga Race Course.
A blockbuster Belmont Stakes Day awaits with a program to include five Grade 1 events among eight stakes in total, culminating with the Belmont Stakes and featuring two Breeders’ Cup “Win And You’re In” qualifiers for 3-year-olds and up: the Grade 1, $1 million Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap going one mile out of the Wilson Chute [Dirt Mile] and the 5 1/2-furlong turf Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur [Turf Sprint].
The Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets is slated as Race 13 on the 14-race card with a post time of 7:04 p.m. Eastern. First post is 10:45 a.m. and admission gates will open to the public at 9 a.m.
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The Belmont Stakes Racing Festival is being held at Saratoga for the second time to allow for the uninterrupted construction of a new Belmont Park. Due to the configuration of Saratoga’s main track, the 2025 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets will once again be contested at 1 1/4-miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2-miles.
Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Sovereignty [post 2, Junior Alvarado, 2-1 ML] closed to win the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs by 1 1/2 lengths over Journalism. Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the Into Mischief bay clipped heels with a rival and traveled in 16th-of-19 early under Junior Alvarado, but steadily made up ground behind the 22.81 seconds, 46.23 and 1:10.78 fractions over the sloppy and sealed going.
Journalism advanced to vie for command turning for home in the 1 1/4-mile test and Sovereignty followed his move, ranging up outside the new leader in the lane, with the pair dueling under the Twin Spires into the final sixteenth.
Sovereignty passed the favored Journalism in deep stretch and carried the signature Godolphin blue silks across the line 1 1/2 lengths in front for the organization’s first Derby score. The final time of 2:02.31 registered a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He’s been good since the race,” said Mott, who saddled Drosselmeyer to win the 2010 Belmont. “He’s just made good, steady progress. He’s remained good. He’s been training well, eating well, and he feels good. So, we are pleased. He has maintained his physical wellbeing quite well since the Derby.”
Godolphin USA’s director of bloodstock Michael Banahan mirrored Mott’s report.
“He seems to be in great shape and we’re very happy with him,” said Banahan. “He’s come out of the Kentucky Derby in great shape and he’s settled back into Saratoga. We’re looking forward to the race.
“That’s very much Bill’s style to give him time between races,” Banahan continued. “The Derby was always the goal, and it’s a race that Godolphin’s founder Sheikh Mohammed [bin Rashid Al Maktoum] has tried to win multiple times in different ways… we were very fortunate that it was Sovereignty who was able to do it.”
Sovereignty was making his second top-level attempt in the Derby off a 1 1/4-length second to Tappan Street in the Grade 1 Florida Derby in March at Gulfstream Park, where that rival got a clear jump on him and prevailed. Sovereignty previously closed to win the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth there, and he also captured the Grade 3 Street Sense as a maiden in his third start as a juvenile at Churchill Downs.
Sovereignty is out of the unraced Bernardini mare Crowned. His second dam is Mushka, who Mott trained to win the 2009 Grade 1 Spinster. Godolphin’s Kentucky homebred Essential Quality captured the 2021 Belmont.
Journalism [post 7, Umberto Rispoli, 8-5 ML] ran back two weeks after the Derby and won the Grade 1 Preakness by a half-length over Gosger. Trained by Michael McCarthy, the Curlin bay was in tight in the upper stretch of Pimlico Race Course, but muscled through rivals nearing the three-sixteenths under Umberto Rispoli en route to a resilient victory.
“The Preakness victory speaks for itself,” said McCarthy, who seeks his first Belmont triumph and saddled Rombauer to a third place finish in 2021 after winning the Preakness. “The horse and rider were obviously very brave. He seems like he bounced out of it well and is enjoying himself up here.”
After Journalism finished third in his six-furlong debut in October at Santa Anita Park, he won four consecutive races leading up to the Triple Crown. He graduated second-out at Del Mar before teaming up with Rispoli to capture the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, Grade 2 San Felipe and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby– the San Felipe returning a field-best 108 Beyer.
McCarthy said a good start will be imperative in the Belmont. Journalism bumped with a foe at the start of the Derby and was in tight during the early going as rivals jostled for position.
“I’d like to have those first hundred yards over again. I’d like to have a clean break and find ourselves a little bit closer to the pace first time past the wire, but I thought he ran very well in the Derby,” McCarthy said.
Journalism, an $825,000 purchase at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, is campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.
C R K Stable and breeder Grandview Equine’s Baeza [post 6, Flavien Prat, 4-1 ML] finished a 1 3/4-length third in the Kentucky Derby and was gaining on the aforementioned duo late. Trained by John Shirreffs, the McKinzie bay exited the outermost 19th post under Flavien Prat after drawing into the Derby field as an also-eligible.
“Baeza shipped in really well to Saratoga. Right now, I’m very happy with how things are,” said Shirreffs, who sent out Tiago to a third-place finish in the 2007 Belmont Stakes. “He really stepped up in the Derby when not having the best of trips, he didn’t get out in time and then made a really good run.”
After his third-out graduation going one-mile in February at Santa Anita, Baeza stepped up to finish a close second to Journalism in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Like Sovereignty, he makes his first start since the Kentucky Derby.
“I think we need a good trip. Somewhere in this race, we need something to happen that is a positive that gives our horse an opportunity to win,” Shirreffs said. “In these kinds of races, that is always what you are looking for.”
Baeza, out of 2024 Broodmare of the Year Puca, is a half-brother to last year’s Belmont Stakes-winner Dornoch and 2023 Kentucky Derby-victor Mage. The $1.2 million purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale looks to follow in Dornoch’s footsteps to become half-siblings to win consecutive Belmonts, like Jazil and the filly Rags to Riches from 2006-07.
Perhaps it is a good omen that namesake Hall of Fame jockey Braulio Baeza captured the Belmont over three different surfaces, aboard Sherluck in 1961 at old Belmont; Chateaugay in 1963 at Aqueduct Racetrack; and Arts and Letters in 1969 at the second Belmont Park.
The last time the top-three finishers of the Kentucky Derby all ran in the Belmont was 2013: Derby-winner Orb was third, runner-up Golden Soul was ninth, and third-place finisher Revolutionary was fifth in the “Test of the Champion.”
Hall of Famer Bob Baffert sends out Rodriguez [post 3, Mike Smith, 6-1 ML] as he looks for his third Belmont after past scores with Point Given [2001] and Triple Crown-winners American Pharoah [2015] and Justify [2018].
Rodriguez, with blinkers off, captured the nine-furlong Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino last out on April 5 at Aqueduct Racetrack under three-time Belmont-winning Hall of Famer Mike Smith. He made the body of the Kentucky Derby, but was an early scratch due to a foot issue, instead honing in on the Belmont.
“I think he’s doing as well as he was before the Wood. He’s running against some pretty tough horses, Sovereignty, Journalism, the really top horses, but we are shipping in there and I feel good about it,” said Baffert. “He was doing awesome until his breeze before the Derby, then he had the foot issue, and we had to wait on that, but that’s all healed up and behind him now.”
Baffert said Rodriguez reminds him a lot of his sire Authentic, whom he trained to 2020 Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Colt honors.
“He’s a light-bodied horse, with a lot of speed, and he’s getting better with age,” Baffert said. “He’s going to get better throughout the summer. I think by the fall, he’ll be at his peak. He was immature like his sire, who got better as he got a bit older.”
Rodriguez, a $485,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown did not have a starter in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness but is in the Belmont with a fighting chance with Amo Racing USA’s Hill Road [post 1, Irad Ortiz, Jr., 10-1 ML], last-out winner of the Grade 3 Peter Pan, the traditional New York prep for the Belmont Stakes, on May 10 at Belmont at the Big A.
The Quality Road bay closed to win the nine-furlong Peter Pan by three-quarter lengths over McAfee, coming from 8th-of-9 early after a stumbling start and finishing on his left lead.
“Flavien [Prat] said he was moving forward so rapidly that he didn’t want to break his momentum, so he just kind of rolled with him through the wire,” Brown said of Hill Road’s lead change. “He runs straight, but hopefully he can get over that and switch leads. I’m not sure why he does it, he is a very sound horse, but nevertheless it is something that is sort of part of him, so hopefully he matures out of it.”
The Peter Pan was Hill Road’s second start for Brown following a barn debut third when adding blinkers in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby in March. He made his first three starts for trainer Adrian Murray, capped with a third in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Del Mar after a pair of turf outings in Ireland.
Brown, whose best Belmont finish was Gronkowski’s second in 2018, said this will test Hill Road, who adds the services of two-time Belmont winning rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. [2016 Creator, 2022 Mo Donegal].
“You have the Preakness and Derby winner in there, so that is a tough race, and a third-place horse in the Derby, that is lightly-raced and on five weeks’ rest that is a good horse, too. He’ll [Hill Road] have his work cut out for him, for sure, with all of those things to overcome,” said Brown.
Hill Road looks to join Counterpoint [1951], High Gun [1954], Gallant Man [1957], Cavan [1958], Coastal [1979], Danzig Connection [1986], A.P. Indy [1992], Tonalist [2014], and Arcangelo [2023] as Peter Pan winners to subsequently score in the Belmont.
Jim And Claire Limited’s Heart of Honor [post 8, Saffie Osborne, 30-1 ML] finished fifth in the Preakness when making his stateside debut and could improve with the seasoning. Trained by Jamie Osborne, the British-bred Honor A.P. dark bay was fractious in the gate and off a step slow, traveling last-of-9 and 15 lengths back through three-quarters, before closing mildly for an 8 3/4-length fifth.
“This has been an easier preparation for him than he had into the Preakness,” said Osborne, whose daughter Saffie will ride, looking to become the second female jockey to win the Belmont in addition to Hall of Famer Julie Krone aboard Colonial Affair in 1993. “Basically because he hasn’t been moving from strange stable to stable on a lorry or on an airplane. He has had a bit of time to settle in at Saratoga, and I think that is going to be beneficial.”
Heart of Honor, out of the Chilean Group 1-winning Scat Daddy mare Ruby Love, will look for a smoother start in order to win his first American race. He has the overseas form indicative of a contender, finishing a close second in Meydan Racecourse’s Group 2 U.A.E. Derby, Group 3 UAE Two Thousand Guineas and the Al Bastakiya.
“We’ve been doing a fair bit of gate work, and he’ll be doing more between now and Saturday,” Osborne said. “We are not expecting him to break from the gate first. It is probable he will break from the gate in the second half of the field, but as long as he doesn’t give them the same head start he gave them.”
Heart of Honor looks to join a select group of British-breds to win the Belmont, most recently done by Celtic Ash in 1960.
Bobby Flay and James Ventura’s Crudo [post 5, John Velazquez, 15-1 ML] was a pacesetting 7 1/2-length winner of the 1 1/16-mile restricted Sir Barton on Preakness Day May 17 at Pimlico. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the son of 2018 Triple Crown-winner Justify broke his maiden second-out in similar fashion sprinting about seven furlongs in April at Keeneland.
“To me, the most impressive thing about the Sir Barton is the way he galloped out,” said Pletcher. “He’s by a Triple Crown winner when the Belmont was a mile and a half. I think the distance suits him.
“I don’t think he needs to be in front,” Pletcher added. “He has enough natural speed that depending on what the pace scenario is, he could find himself on the lead. I would assume Rodriguez would probably be looking for the lead. We’ll see how we break and how it unfolds.”
In his longest race to date, Crudo will look to become Pletcher’s fifth Belmont-winner with Hall of Famer and two-time Belmont champ Johnny Velazquez aboard [Rags to Riches, 2007; Union Rags, 2012]. The Ken McPeek-trained Sarava won the Sir Barton ahead of upsetting the 2002 Belmont at 70-1.
Pletcher also sends out WinStar Farm and Repole Stable’s Uncaged [post 4, Luis Saez, 30-1 ML], who will need to improve from a last-out sixth in the Peter Pan as he travels two turns for the second time.
Uncaged’s sire Hall of Famer Curlin was defeated a head by the Pletcher-trained filly Rags to Riches in the 2007 Belmont. Additional past Belmont scores for Pletcher are Palace Malice [2013], Tapwrit [2017] and Mo Donegal [2022].
“He’s a well-bred horse, bred for the distance,” Pletcher said of the $450,000 purchase at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale out of Grade 3-winner Dark Nile. “He will need to make a big move forward, but you can’t do it without trying.”
Luis Saez, who navigated Dornoch to victory last year and Essential Quality in 2021, will be aboard the 2-for-4 prospect for the first time in the afternoon. Uncaged graduated on debut sprinting six furlongs in August here and captured a one-turn mile optional claimer in April at Aqueduct.
Post Position Draw Quotes
Michael McCarthy, trainer of morning line favorite Journalism (post 7, 8-5): “Looking at where we’re drawn, there’s a little bit of speed inside of us. Obviously, the horse on outside [Heart of Honor] was a little rambunctious [in the gate] in the Preakness. I see us running into the first turn – all these Triple Crown races have a very honest pace – and I think we’ll be forwardly placed.
“He’s been kind of the same horse since July of last summer. He does everything you ask a good horse to do – eats well, trains well, packs well. I thought the last six or seven weeks here, his energy has been the same throughout. Obviously, Saratoga is very good for horses. He seems reenergized up here. I’m looking forward to a wonderful renewal of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.”
Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, co-owner of Journalism: “He’s captured everybody’s hearts that’s had the privilege to be around him and see him and truly admire him. On the track, he’s such an incredible mover and he just takes your breath away – but he also has an incredible mind that exudes class, and anybody that’s been around these horses can recognize that. He really does have an incredible dual physical and mental constitution.”
On getting Post 7 when the only posts remaining were 7 and 1: “It’s been a very dramatic Triple Crown season and they left one more piece of drama to the final pills that needed to be drawn – the 1 or the 7. Thankfully, we came out on the right side of that draw. It will, hopefully, allow Umberto [Rispoli] to keep things simple and have a lot of options from where he’s drawn.”
On how impressive his work was on Sunday: “Very. We try not to take it for granted because he’s become so machinelike but considering his campaign already this year, travel…he’d be forgiven if he didn’t go out there and perform as well as we’re accustomed to seeing. It’s certainly a relief and encouraging to see he’s giving us all the right signs off the racetrack and when given the opportunity to breeze, he goes out there and does everything you ask him to and more.”
Umberto Rispoli, jockey of Journalism: “This is my second time here, the first time I came to Saratoga was in 2019 in the summer time just because I talked to [jockey agent] Ron Anderson and we saw a chance, an opportunity to come over to America from Hong Kong. Being away for a long time, I didn’t remember a lot of stuff. I’m spending some good time here with my family, Michael [McCarthy], Aron [Wellman]. I’m enjoying this moment.”
About if he came to the draw because of his bond with Journalism: “I was here because I came to work the horse. I was here because it is a privilege to be on a horse like him. He really keeps all of us [the connections] close. Now let’s see what happens on Saturday. It will be interesting.”
Bill Mott, trainer of Sovereignty (post 2, 2-1): “I thought, being a small field of eight horses, I was going to be happy with whatever post position we got. I don’t think it’s big issue.
“He’s been moving well over the track and eating the bottom out of the feed tub. He’s carrying his weight well. I hope he’s doing as good on Saturday as he was this morning.
“He’s improved – as many of these horses have. This entire group, if you look at their form and the way they’ve developed over the course of this year, I think they’ve made steady progress. It should be an interesting race on Saturday.”
John Shirreffs, trainer of Baeza (post 6, 4-1): “He’s very light on his feet. Everything he does is effortless. I think he’s earned respect in his races, he ran a terrific race in the Kentucky Derby – didn’t get the best of trips, had a little trouble and was stuck behind, didn’t get out soon enough. He would have had, I think, a little bit better run at the end.
“When he ran in the Kentucky Derby, he’d never been on an off track. He had never seen an off track. I don’t think the surface makes any difference to him.
“Saratoga is that special place. Horses love it. For us, it’s a place where [it’s] the first time for them to be out amongst the trees, and get that kind of far away look. So, there’s always something different to do here – we can go to Oklahoma [training track], we can go over to the main track, we can walk in the back on the grass. It gives the horses a lot of different opportunities to maybe express themselves a little differently.”
On drawing post 6, two stalls to the inside of Heart of Honor, who was fractious at the gate in his last start: “I think the starter will handle that. I have a lot of faith in what the starter’s going to do.
“Post always has a little bit of an influence on what may happen, especially if horses don’t break straight. If a horse doesn’t break straight and you’re on the inside, then they’re going to push you down on the rail, so that’s the only thing – racing room out of the gate.”
Bob Baffert, trainer of Rodriguez (post 3, 6-1): “I’m happy with the draw.”
Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing, co-owner of Rodriguez: “They all say he’s doing well and over the foot injury. He’s kept some pretty good company before this race. He’s run against Journalism and Baeza and Mike Smith’s not a bad rider [laughs].”
Saffie Osborne, jockey of Heart of Honor (post 8, 30-1): “With eight horses, I wasn’t too concerned about the draw. I’d rather be in eight than one with this horse. He obviously didn’t jump very well and hopefully will jump better this week with the work they’ve done with him out the gates in between these two races. There are two positives for me: hopefully I’ll be in late on [loaded late] and we won’t have to be in there too long; secondly, hopefully it’ll allow us to get some momentum up without horses crowding him too early. I suppose there are positives and negatives to take from it, but I’m not too concerned.”
