Godolphin's Sovereignty Looks to Reign in Florida Derby

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott stood in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle after the March 1 Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2), having just watched his colt, Godolphin homebred Sovereignty , storm from last to first in the stretch for a second straight start.

Mott was asked whether the bay's effort, following a four-month layoff and facing a challenging 1 1/16-mile course track, exceeded expectations. "Not really," Mott replied matter-of-factly.

Based on that response, Mott was not surprised Sovereignty was made the 8-5 favorite for the March 29 Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream, where 10 3-year-olds will compete in the 1 1/8-mile race.

The Florida Derby will award Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to its top five finishers, respectively.

Sovereignty, son of Into Mischief  , currently has 60 Kentucky Derby points thanks to victories in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Oct. 27 Street Sense Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.

The colt's regular rider, Junior Alvarado, has been sidelined with a shoulder injury and will miss the Florida Derby. Manny Franco has been named to replace Alvarado for Saturday's race. Mott's colt drew post 10 for the 74th running of the Florida Derby.

"I guess it's a good thing we've shown we can run over the (Gulfstream) track," the trainer said

The first 73 years of the Florida Derby have produced 60 winners of Triple Crown events, including 25 editions of the Kentucky Derby. 

SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan's Madaket Road  was made the 7-2 second choice.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the son of Quality Road   was runner-up in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park Feb. 23. Madaket Road drew post 8. Tyler Gaffalione was originally named to ride, but according to a social media post on X by Ryan, Mike Smith will replace Gaffalione after the latter was injured prior to the fourth race at Gulfstream Park March 26.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, whose Fierceness  won last year's Florida Derby by a record 13 1/2 lengths, will start Repole Stable, Spendthrift Farm, Big Easy Racing, Titletown Racing, Winners Win, Golconda Stable, Ali Goodrich, and Mark Parkinson's Disruptor . Irad Ortiz Jr. will be aboard the son of Gun Runner  , the 4-1 third choice, from post 4.

"You hope for a clean trip," said Pletcher, who owns a record eight Florida Derby wins. "We trust Irad to make the decisions based on what he sees."

In his second career start, Disruptor won a maiden special weight race by 9 1/4 lengths on the Fountain of Youth undercard.

WinStar Farm, CHC, and Cold Press Racing's Tappan Street , runner-up in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull Stakes (G3), was rated the fourth choice at 5-1 on the morning line after drawing post 9.

Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Luis Saez, the son of Into Mischief finished second in the 1 1/16-mile Holy Bull after scoring a 1 3/4-length victory in his career debut at Gulfstream Dec. 28.

The Florida Derby will be televised nationally on CNBC and streamed on Peacock.