Godolphin homebreds took center stage on opening day of the Churchill Downs fall meet as Sovereignty and Good Cheer dominated local preps for the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1).
For Sovereignty, the 1 1/16-mile $200,000 Street Sense (G3) provided a lucrative opportunity to graduate the maiden ranks after finishing fourth and second in his first two starts against tough maiden special weight foes on the New York Racing Association circuit.
Favored at just over 7-5 even while stepping up in class, Sovereignty made his $4.86 win payoff look like a bargain. The son of five-time leading North American sire Into Mischief was slow into stride under jockey Junior Alvarado and trailed the field through fractions of :23.57, :48.00, and 1:12.52, but down the homestretch he swallowed the leaders with a giant outside rally to win by five lengths in a stakes-record 1:43.86.
“This is rare to see a horse break their maiden in a two-turn stakes race like today,” said Alvarado. “We knew that this horse had a lot of talent. He broke great today. When I turned for home, I just showed him the road and he took off. Things are coming together with his development. I think as the distances get longer, they will not be a problem for him.”
Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Sovereignty earned 10 qualification points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Tiztastic (five points), Sandman (three points), Dapper Moon (two points), and Bracket Buster (one point) likewise earned points while finishing second through fifth. Forged Steel, Reach for the Rose, Comes a Time, and Baby Boat completed the order of finish.
Earlier in the afternoon, Good Cheer proved much the best in the 1 1/16-mile $200,000 Rags to Riches S. A daughter of elite sire Medaglia d’Oro out of multiple Grade 1 winner Wedding Toast, Good Cheer started as the favorite at just over 7-10 thanks to blowout maiden and allowance victories to start her career.
Good Cheer was bumped around at the start of the Rags to Riches and briefly trailed the five-horse field before advancing up the inside to race fourth and then third through fractions of :23.88, :48.06, and 1:12.63. Around the final turn, she shifted outside under jockey Luis Saez and confidently took command to dominate by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:44.00.
“She was really impressive again today,” said Saez. “I took her back off horses down the backside and saved ground. She relaxed and handled that very well. Around the turn when I asked her for her best run, she was loaded. She’s a very impressive prospect with not a lot of seasoning behind her.”
Winning trainer Brad Cox also praised Good Cheer, who brought her career tally to a perfect 3-for-3 while paying $3.48 to win.
“She’s shown a lot of talent in just three starts,” said Cox. “Today was obviously a new test, trying stakes company for the first time. She handled being behind horses very well.”
Pacesetter Claire’s Charm stayed on for second place by a clear margin over Sherbini, followed by Adeera and Mechaya. The top five finishers earned Kentucky Oaks qualification points on the 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
