Derby, Belmont winner Sovereignty has to prove it again in Jim Dandy

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1 of 3 | Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty returns to the races as the favorite in Saturday's Jim Dandy at Saratoga. File Photo by Mark Abraham/UPI | License Photo
July 25 (UPI) -- Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty takes on some old rivals again Saturday in the Jim Dandy at Springfield and will have to continue proving himself to maintain his top spot among American 3-year-olds.
Saturday's Grade I Bing Crosby at Del Mar is a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Sprint and looks pretty ripe for the picking.
On the global scene, Saturday's King George at Ascot offers a guaranteed slot in the Breeders' Cup Turf with two-time winner of that race, Rebel's Romance, looking like a long shot.
And we're off like a sure thing ...
Classic
Sovereignty clearly leads the 3-year-old division after winning the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. But in what's turned out to be a tough and competitive season, he's going to have to prove it again in Saturday's $500,000 Grade II Jim Dandy at Saratoga.
Just a week after his chief rival, Journalism, stayed in the mix with a victory in the Grade I Haskell at Monmouth Park, Sovereignty takes on another familiar foe, Baeza, in the Jim Dandy.
Baeza returns from California after finishing third in the Belmont and third in the Kentucky Derby. Before that, he was second to Journalism in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby.
But wait. There's more.
Also in the tidy, five-horse field is Sandman. He won the Grade I Arkansas Derby, but then finished seventh at Churchill Downs and third in the Preakness.
Mo Plex enters the Saratoga heat off victories in the Bay Shore at Aqueduct and the Grade III Ohio Derby at Thistledown and has not been worse than third in eight career starts.
And Hill Road, third in the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, won the Grade III Peter Pan before finishing fifth in the Belmont.
Trainer Bill Mott said early in the week Sovereignty is "doing good" but, as always, needs things to go his way in the race.
"We hope he has a good race and has a little luck. Anything can happen," Mott said. "They've got to go around there and it's not over until those blinking lights say 'official.' They've got to hang those numbers up and say official."
Mo Plex's trainer, Jeremiah Englehart, said he was impressed with his colt's effort in Ohio, but noted, "Now he has this test of taking on the top 3-year-olds in the game."
Important as it is, in the great arc of the 3-year-old season the Jim Dandy is "merely" the local prep for the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers on Aug. 23 -- a.k.a. the "Midsummer Derby."
And speaking of the Travers, Chancer McPatrick, winner of last year's Grade I Champagne Stakes and second in the Tampa Bay Derby in March, outfinished So Sandy by a head in Thursday's $135,000 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga.
The race was restricted to 3-year-olds who had not won a graded stakes race this year. Even so, trainer Chad Brown said it proved his colt likes a fast Saratoga track -- he's 3-for-3 in those conditions -- and indicated the Travers is not out of the question for him.
"Surely, our dream would be to try to get him out to a mile and a quarter and hope for dry weather on Travers Day if he's a horse for course," Brown said.
The weekend slate for older Classic division horses is rife with other Triple Crown performers.
Nysos is the 3-5 favorite on the morning line for Saturday's $300,000 Grade II San Diego Handicap at Del Mar. The 4-year-old Nyquist colt, knocked off the 2024 Triple Crown races by injury, comes off a win in the Grade III Triple Bend at Santa Anita.
Speaking of 2024 Triple Crown candidates, Hades won the Grade III Holy Bull back in February 2024 and was fifth in the Florida Derby. After wandering in the wilderness since, he's back at Gulfstream for Friday's $70,000 Tackleberry Handicap, facing another Triple Crown refugee, Catalytic.
These are some contentious races and industry insider Jude Feld has some interesting takes on some of the main heats. Check out his tips and thoughts at popejude.com.
Distaff
Running Away, Fondly and Paris Lily are stacked atop the morning line in a field of seven to contest Saturday's $250,000 Grade III Monmouth Oaks.
Saturday's $150,000 Grade III Trillium on the Woodbine all-weather has six, featuring Caitlinhergrtness. The winner of last year's King's Plate looks for a bounce back from an eighth-place finish in the Grade II Nassau.
Sprint
Saturday's $400,000 Grade I Bing Crosby at Del Mar, a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Sprint, looks like a midsummer peach orchard (you pick 'em). Well and almost evenly regarded on the morning line are Hejaz, World Record, Dr. Venkman, Mbagnick, Roll On Big Joe and Crazy Mason.
Macho Music is the 2-1 morning-line pick in a field of eight for Friday's $200,000 Grade II Amsterdam for 3-year-olds at Saratoga. The Florida-bred won the Grade II Pat Day Mile at Churchill Downs on Derby Day, but then faded from the lead to finish in a dead heat for seventh in the Grade I Woody Stephens going 7 furlongs on June 7. This one is 6 1/2 furlongs.
Turf
The eight-horse field for Sunday's $250,000 Grade II Eddie Read at Del Mar looks pretty familiar, with many of the usual suspects signed on. Among them are Balnikhov and Gold Phoenxi from the Phil D'Amato barn, George Papaprodromu's Cabo Spirit and Balladeer and stalwarts Stay Hot, Atitlan, Formidable Man and Dicey Mo Chara.
Filly & Mare Turf
The first three from the July 3 Wild Applause Stakes -- Classic Q, Play With Fire and Lavender Disaster -- line up again for Saturday's $175,000 Grade III Lake George for 3-year-old fillies at Saratoga.
Nine 3-year-old fillies are entered for Saturday's $150,000 (Canadian) Ontario Colleen at Woodbine with a case to be made for many of them.
Sunday's $250,000 Grade II Glens Falls at Saratoga is another competitive heat, with six of the eight in the main field held at single-digit odds on the morning line.
Around the world, around the clock
England
Saturday's Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot shapes up as a proper heavyweight match, which is only appropriate for a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" event.
Confirmations include Calandagan from France, Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel, top filly Kalpana and Godolphin's all-world Rebel's Romance, whose resume already includes two wins in the Breeders' Cup Turf.
Calandagan ended a string of four consecutive Group 1 seconds with a victory in the Grand Prix de Paris in his last start. The runner-up streak included the Coronation Cup, so the Gleneagles gelding has 1/2 length to find vis-a-vis Jan Brueghel, a 4-year-old Galileo colt who is joined by Coolmore stablemate and likely rabbit Continuous.
Rebel's Romance should be at a square price even though Godolphin's 7-year-old globetrotter won the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup and the Group 2 Hardwicke in his last two starts, handily defeating Al Riffa in the latter.
Age would be the issue against what trainer Charlie Appleby describes as "some young legs." Andrew Balding brings Pretty Polly runner-up Kalpana for the King George.