The Saratoga Special. Year 24. No. 20. August 31, 2024.
Arthur’s Ride and Neil Poznansky made the cover before the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Quietside led a Spinaway preview. Millie Girl featured in a Flower Bowl preview. Miuccia starred in a Prioress preview. West Hollywood won the Saranac. Zulu Kingdom emerged in the With Anticipation. Totally Justified upset the P.G. Johnson. Joe wrote a column about Vince Bracciale Jr. and Ruffian. Shapazian led Bedard by seven and Law by 16 in the Power Grid. The Cup of Coffee focused on Lena Lorieul’s retirement after 40 years as an exercise rider for Shug McGaughey.
And Bill Mott took his annual spot in the Fasig-Tipton Stable Tour. Nic’s Style, Jefferson Street, Batten Down, Scylla, Parchment Party, Bendoog, Hunt Ball, Ragtime, War Like Goddess, Spiced Up were a few of the names of the 38 horses in the final edition of The Special.
Inwood Drive lived in the first stall, a foot abscess holding up his debut. Stars And Stripes resided in the second, a month away from his first start. And in the third…
Sovereignty: Godolphin homebred son of Into Mischief finished a late-running fourth on Travers Day
“Finished up good. Closed from last. It looks like once he figures it out…Did you see him? That was 6 the other day and he was closing well. At 7 furlongs, he’s going to be in the game. He should get a mile. How long? I don’t know. He’s very muscular. When you say real long, you’re talking a mile and a quarter. But when you start talking nine and 10 furlongs, then I think you’re talking sometimes about a different type of animal. I don’t know. Maybe he does. I’m not ruling it out. He’s out of a good family. First dam is Crowned. The second dam is Mushka, who I won the Spinster with. The third dam is Sluice, who I won a stake with in Chicago. The fourth dam is Lakeway who was trained by Gary Jones. She won a bunch of Grade 1 stakes. I didn’t train the mother, but this would be the fourth generation that I trained out of the family. It would be pretty cool for me if he turned out OK just because of Sluice and Mushka. And I still train for Mr. Rutherford, who had Lakeway.”
A year later – well, 51 weeks later – Sovereignty is in the same stall. He never got the chance to get in the game at 7 furlongs, jumping from a fourth at 6 furlongs in his first start to a mile in his second start. He finished second that day, broke his maiden in the Street Sense in his third start. And, you know the rest, a Stable Tour hunch to a Kentucky Derby winner, Belmont Stakes winner, Jim Dandy winner and Travers favorite. And that’s why we come to Saratoga. For the chance to see Sovereignty before he’s Sovereignty.
Search and discovery.
Thursday morning, I arranged a golf cart tour for three friends from Virginia. We made it for 8:00. A civilized time to go to the track. Cathy Kerkam, Anne Sittman and Susan Pope arrived at 8:15 and we toured around the backside. Like a New York City tour guide, I told the story about how the Oklahoma got its name, pointed out the carriage barn inside Clare Court, showed off Todd Pletcher’s grass and pointed to the third stall from the end at Bill Mott’s barn. The yoke screen was shut and somewhere back there was last year’s unknown future star of the final Stable Tour.
“I was hoping maybe we’d see Sovereignty, he lives right there…”
I wasn’t sure any of the three self-proclaimed horse girls knew who I meant. There was a squeal, a gasp and a request. “Can we meet him?” Knowing to never waste a bullet when it comes to Mott’s barn, I shook my head and kept driving to an audible disappointment from my passengers.
“If you want to come out tomorrow morning, we can watch him train.”
A throwaway line to diffuse and deflect. I told Kerkam to text me later. She did. I offered the reality. First set. 5:30. I figured that would be the end of it, knowing night shenanigans squelch morning schedules at Saratoga.
“We’ll be there.”
So much for diffusing and deflecting.
I set my alarm for 4:45, hit snooze once and woke up Annie, who arrived in town Thursday night.
“Do you want to see Sovereignty?” I whispered.
Add the fourth horse girl to the tour.
No time for coffee, we met at the office and gently navigated the dark parking lot, crossing East Avenue like cat burglars. The late August chill reminding us of the old days at Saratoga. A horse rolled past on the Oklahoma, you only knew by the sound of hooves on the dirt and breath in the air. We slowed and slid past Mott’s barn. I could see a saddle hanging on the runner in front of that same stall three from a year ago.
We waited near the gap, a linger and a loiter. Maybe we could have gotten that coffee. About 20 minutes later, Sovereignty and exercise rider Jimmy Quispe walked their first loop around the covered shedrow. Head high, ears flicking, marching. A few minutes later, they walked to the track, jogged past us, stopped near the seven-eighths pole, chilled and then loped past us the first time and rolled past us the second time.
I could hear Mott’s voice from a year earlier.
“Once he figures it out…”
