By Tim Wilkin
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Jockey Junior Alvarado, the race day partner of Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the leading 3-year-old in the country, knows how everyone feels now. That's because he saw up close just how powerful Sovereignty is.
Sovereignty had his final work before next weekend's $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes Saturday morning at the Oklahoma Training Track. As usual, he was being ridden by Neil Poznansky, the assistant to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.
Alvarado, helping the barn out, climbed aboard Fort Nelson (Bernardini), who was Sovereignty's workmate for the five-furlong move. Sovereignty was timed in 1:01.82 (7/13) and Fort Nelson was clocked in 1:01.90 (8/13).
“I was on a nice horse, and I tried to catch him, but it was impossible,” Alvarado said after the work, sitting in a golf cart with his agent Mike Sellitto. “I thought my horse worked great. That other horse…he is just different. It seemed like he was toying with us the whole time.”
Mott was certainly pleased with how Sovereignty, who broke a length in front of his workmate. After getting back to the barn area and watching Sovereignty cool out, he was reminded of how his stable star looked before another big race.
.@KentuckyDerby, @BelmontStakes winner@Sovereignty inside, works before next week's Travers.
Neil Poznansky, assistant to HOF trainer Bill Mott is on board. Working with Fort Nelson with @JuniorandKellyA, Sovereignty's jockey. 5F in 1:01.82. @theTDN pic.twitter.com/BkxQLYh66F— Tim Wilkin (@tjwilkin) August 16, 2025
“He looks very much like he looked going into the Belmont,” Mott said. “He has been training good this last week. Aggressive, up in the bridle. He worked good. It was what we were looking for.”
Sovereignty, owned by Godolphin, is rolling into the Travers with three straight wins and four of five for the year. In his last start, he won the GII Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga by a length; before that, he was a three-length winner in the GI Belmont Stakes.
The Travers is 1 1/4-miles, the same distance as the GI Kentucky Derby, which he won by 1 1/2 lengths on the first Saturday in May. When entries are taken on Sunday, it is expected that just four will try to challenge him.
“Well, his record, I suppose,” Mott said when asked if Sovereignty is scaring off competition. “It's in black and white, what he's done. I'm sure some people figure there are probably easier places to run, but not everybody's fleeing. There are some horses in there that are OK. It's not a done deal.”
Horses expected to enter include the Chad Brown-trained Strategic Focus (Gun Runner), Magnitude (Not This Time) from Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, the Vicki Oliver-trained Bracket Buster (Vekoma) and McAfee (Cloud Computing) from the barn of Rick Dutrow.
“(Sovereignty) is the horse to beat, but, at the same token, they've got to go around there,” Mott said. “He has to do it in the afternoon. That's why they're going to run the race. Otherwise, they would just hand us the trophy, but they don't ever do that.”
Locked (outside) and Fierceness (inside) | Sarah Andrew
Mindframe, Antiquarian Aiming at JCGC; Pletcher May Have More
With two weeks to go, it looks as though Mindframe (Constitution) and Antiquarian (Preservationist) are bound for the GI, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on Sunday, Aug. 31.
Todd Pletcher, their Hall of Fame trainer, said they might have some company in the starting gate on the final weekend of the Saratoga meet.
Stablemates Fierceness (City of Light) and Locked (Gun Runner) could also end up there.
“I've got to look at that,” Pletcher said outside his office at his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning when asked about having four in the race. “As of today, it's possible, but I don't think it will happen.”
All four of his older horse heavyweights–they are all 4-year-olds–worked Saturday morning just after 7 a.m. on the main track Fierceness and Locked came first and worked in company, both getting four furlongs in 47.66 (3/134). Mindframe and Antiquarian followed with a five-furlong breeze. They were both timed in 1:01.50 (15/27).
Pletcher said that Fierceness, owned by Repole Stable, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier, will be considered for just about everything on the upcoming schedule. Besides the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Pletcher will look at the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, on Aug. 30 and the GII Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs and the GII Woodward Stakes at Aqueduct, both on Sept. 27.
His goal would be to keep Fierceness and Mindframe — owned by Repole Stable and St, Elias Stables LLC — separated until the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar in November. Fierceness finished fifth in the GI Whitney Stakes on Aug. 2; Mindframe, undefeated in three starts this year, won his last race, the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 28.
“It would be a way of not running him and Mindframe against each other,” Pletcher said about possibly sending Fierceness out West. “Obviously there are some logistics that would have to fall into place nicely for that to happen, but I think it's worth looking into it, Fierceness is on the Jockey Club Gold Cup trail, but he is also on the Pacific Classic trail. Both are possibilities or both are neither.”
He said he would also consider sending Locked, owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Walmac Farm, to the Pacific Classic. First, though, that would have to get the ok from Aron Wellman, the leader of Eclipse. He also owns Journalism (Curlin), one of the top 3-year-olds in the country who could be headed to the Pacific Classic.
Antiquarian, owned by Centennial Farms, and Locked finished second and third in their last starts, the GII Suburban Stakes at Saratoga on the Fourth of July.
“We are blessed to have some high-quality older horses,” Pletcher said. “We came into the year hoping we would have a successful campaign with them. Mindframe has been the most successful so far, but you know how this is. You've got to keep winning.”
Future Is Now before the Smart And Fancy | Sarah Andrew
Aptly named Future Is Now Just Keeps on Winning
On Saturday morning, a 5-year-old mare named Future Is Now (Great Notion) poked her head out of her stall when she heard the rustling of a peppermint being unwrapped.
One of the workers at trainer Michael Trombetta's barn smiled and said, “not more than five.”
Future Is Now got her allotment but probably deserved a few more. She earned them after what she did on Thursday when she won the listed $150,000 Smart And Fancy at Saratoga.
It was her 10th win in 16 career starts on turf and improved her record at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass to seven wins in 10 tries. It was her fourth win in six starts at Saratoga.
“You know, she has been a lot of fun,” trainer Michael Trombetta said at his barn on the Oklahoma Training Track. “She has exceeded everyone's expectations. To get a horse that wins as often as she does and does it like she does … they just don't come around too often.”
Future Is Now is owned by the Estate of R. Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson, a Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred breeder, passed away in February at the age of 78. He bred Future Is Now and was also the breeder of top older horse Mindframe (Constitution), a Maryland-bred.
Trombetta said the next start for his stable star will likely be the GII Franklin Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 12. Future Is Now won that race last year; she was also a repeat winner of the Smart And Fancy.
He said she is not nominated to run in the GI Breeders Cup Turf Sprint.
“When Larry was here that might have been a possibility,” Trombetta said. “Not being nominated is a bit of a hurdle. I would imagine she would be respected with the boys but it's a little bit of a challenge for the girls to run against these males.”
Future Is Now will leave Saratoga for Trombetta's base at the Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland on Monday. He hopes that if all goes well, she will run as a 6-year-old.
“You know, I never expect any of them to win,” he said. “I hope they will win. It's a big deal to win (at Saratoga). You can win four or five at one of the Mid-Atlantic tracks and no one even notices. You win here, you get 30 text messages.”
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