Sovereignty

Tappan Street (Into Mischief) and Sovereignty (Into Mischief), one-two in the GI Curlin Florida Derby, breezed Friday morning at Payson Park while preparing for their scheduled starts in the GI Kentucky Derby. WinStar Farm LLC, CHC Inc. and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street, who defeated Sovereignty by 1 1/4 lengths Mar. 29, breezed a half-mile in company with 3-year-old stablemate Rapture (Uncle Mo). "He went very well. I had him in :48 2/5, 1:01 3/5. It was a good move, executed very, very well. Obviously, inside of Rapture. It was...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after the final round of 100-point preps. The rankings below are in "likeliest winner" order, and are independent from the "Road to the Derby" points leaderboard that awards starting berths. 1) JOURNALISM (c, Curlin--Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) O-Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, LaPenta, Robert V., Magnier, Mrs. John, Smith, Derrick and Tabor, Michael B.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-4-0-1, $638,880. Last start: WON...

If you want a historical prognosticator for success in the GI Kentucky Derby, you can't do much better than running well in the GI Florida Derby. The premier stakes for sophomores at Gulfstream Park has been around since 1952, and in 73 renewals, Florida Derby participants have gone on to win that year's Kentucky Derby 25 times-a better than 1-in-3 strike rate. For perspective, the next-most-productive preps are two far older races, the GI Champagne Stakes (which dates to 1867) and the GI Blue Grass Stakes (first run in 1911),...

Gulfstream Park's GI Curlin Florida Derby tips off one hour ahead of Oaklawn's GI Arkansas Derby on Saturday and, with 100 points on the 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' on offer in each spot, both races offer what amounts to a 'win and you're in' spot in the gate on the first Saturday in May. Between them, the two tracks host eight of the day's 10 graded stakes. Godolphin homebred Sovereignty (Into Mischief), one of two runners in the Florida Derby along with Madaket Road (Quality Road) facing a jockey...

Manny Franco will accompany Godolphin's Sovereignty (Into Mischief) in Saturday's $1-million GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. The New York-based jockey will fill in for regular rider Junior Alvarado, who sustained a shoulder injury in a racing mishap Sunday. Alvarado has been aboard the bay for all four starts, including a last-to-first victory in the Mar. 1 GII Fountain of Youth. Franco is currently atop the jockey standings at the current Aqueduct meet. "I can rarely get him. He's never been easy to get to ride, but I think...

We've taken the plunge into the deeper end of the prep pool for the GI Kentucky Derby. Five nine-furlong stakes each awarding 100 qualifying points are scheduled over the next two Saturdays, after which this list will expand to the Top 20. 1) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief--No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Robert Low & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history:...

Godolphin's Sovereignty (Into Mischief), a smashing winner of the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes on seasonal debut Mar. 1, drew widest in a field of 10 and was made the 8-5 favorite on the morning line for the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on Mar. 29. Trained by Bill Mott, looking for his first victory in the Kentucky Derby stepping-stone, Sovereignty is a homebred son of Crowned (Bernardini), whose dam Mushka (Empire Maker) was a Grade II winner of the Demoiselle Stakes as a juvenile and added...

GII DK Horse San Felipe Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) was named the 3-1 individual favorite in pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager which opens Friday, March 14 and runs through Sunday, March 16. Joining him at 3-1 odds is the undefeated Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) in the lone Kentucky Derby Oaks Future Wager which opens the same time. Both pools feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering, as well as a separate Oaks/Derby Future Double linking selections in both races. The Kentucky Derby Future Wager closes Sunday at 6...

9th-Gulfstream, $77,000, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-9, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.59, ft, 7 1/2 lengths. PRAETOR (c, 3, Into Mischief--Curlin's Approval {MGSW, $654,725}, by Curlin) ran a well-beaten third on debut in the mud at the Spa last August, but he was able to graduate by a neck over the highly-regarded GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth hero Sovereignty (Into Mischief) at the Big A Sept. 27. Given time after a minor injury, the bay returned to work at Chad Brown's Payson base in late January. Slammed at the windows for his...

Godolphin homebred and GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) is being pointed to the GI Curlin Florida Derby for his next start March 29. "I think we're leaning very heavily toward the Florida Derby," said Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott Friday. "We're 95 percent sure that's where we're going." Sovereignty earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his Fountain of Youth victory by a neck over 'TDN Rising Star' River Thames (Maclean's Music), and is tied with 2024 2-year-old male champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief)...

Though one of his daughters lost the services of Magnitude (Not This Time) straight after his GII Risen Star romp, and another must send Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) in from the cold this weekend, once again last Saturday the extraordinary distaff influence of Bernardini loomed behind the big Derby rehearsals on either coast. True, the winners of both the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and GII San Felipe Stakes were first and foremost repaying a seven-figure investment in their respective dams--each clearly having much else going for them. But the...

Since the last installment of this column, the No. 1-ranked contender, First Resort (Uncle Mo), has been declared off the Triple Crown trail because of a hairline fracture, and no fewer than four other top 12 horses were bet down to favoritism but lost points-awarding graded stakes. Even after this past Saturday's trio of preps for the GI Kentucky Derby, trying to figure out a new pecking order remains challenging, like trying to coax clarity out of chaos. 1) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief--No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing...