Sovereignty walks to the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby. (Jenny Doyle/Beyond the Wire)
Ben Baugh
PALM BEACH, FL – If ever there was a horse that lived up to its name, it would be His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum’s brilliant three-year-old Godolphin LLC, the Bill Mott conditioned Sovereignty. The homebred Godolphin received 100% of the first place votes for outstanding 3-year-old male in the Eclipse Award voting, and it was Godolphin’s second Horse of the Year Eclipse Award in the last three years, with Cody’s Wish taking the honor in 2023. Sovereignty will race as a 4-year-old.
Sovereignty was rewarded with several year-end awards, being named Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Males at the Resolute Racing 55e Annual Eclipse Awards at The Breakers on January 22, 2026. Godolphin also received praise as the Eclipse Award-winning breeder and owner. It is the ninth time that Godolphin has been named outstanding owner.
The son of Into Mischief enjoyed a sophomore campaign that was one for the ages, scoring five stakes victories, including two in the Classics, the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Gr.1) and the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (Gr. 1), and culminating his 3-year-old campaign by winning the DraftKing Travers Stakes (Gr. 1), a race in which he left 3-10. favorite. The bay colt’s other wins came in the Grade Two Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun (Gr. 2).
The long-time successful trainer/jockey combination of Mott and Junior Alvarado combined for all five of his victories during his sophomore campaign and for his only win during his junior campaign, where Sovereignty broke his maiden in his third start, in the Street Sense Stakes (Gr. 3) at Churchill Downs last fall.
“This experience has taken me to another level in my profession and sport,” said Alvarado. “I was happy that I have achieved so many great things this year. I could retire tomorrow and be extremely happy with what I have achieved with this horse. I was very excited about tonight hoping that he (Sovereignty) would be the horse of the year. It felt really good and great to be part of the team.”
Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott would take home his fifth Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer.
“It’s special. I’ve never had that good of a three-year-old and won those big races,” Mott said. “He’s a very good horse and hopefully we can come back next year and prove it again. It’s a big challenge when you bring a horse into the new year, but hopefully he’ll be ready.”
The only blemish on Sovereignty’s sophomore campaign was a second-place finish in the Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Xalapa on Tappan Street.
However, Sovereignty received its early training in Ocala in the same program as its biggest rival Eclipse Racing and Partners and Bridlewood Farm’s Journalism at John and Leslie Malone’s Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, under the watchful eye of Joan “Meda” Murphy. Bridlewood is no stranger to success when it comes to Horse of the Year, with Gun Runner, 2017, and Cody’s Wish, 2023, both graduates of Team Bridlewood and Murphy’s program before rising to the top of the sport.
“Joan “Meda” Murphy is the trainer, and I give all the credit to her and her team for bringing these young horses. The way she did it and the way her program did it. I give all the credit to her, her team and the team we have at Bridlewood,” said Bridlewood General Manager George Isaacs.
It was that rivalry between sovereignty and journalism that captured the nation’s imagination, with sovereignty defeating journalism in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Journalism would score its classic victory, however, in a race that would bypass sovereignty and capture the Preakness Stakes (Gr. 1). Journalism was also a finalist for Horse of the Year and an outstanding 3-year-old male.
“It was a great Triple Crown series, we obviously had a kind of synthetic Triple Crown between sovereignty and journalism. To be part of that story, to be part of that journey was great for all of us at Bridlewood and Team Bridlewood, and obviously it was great for Godolphin or Darley,” said Isaacs. “Like I said to Team Godolphin before the (Kentucky) Derby. I was at the Derby, they were at the Derby, I said ‘listen guys, I have to be honest with you, I really hope we can win, if we can’t win I hope you do’. We are all competitive by nature and our horses ultimately decide who crosses the finish line first is the winner.”
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