DAILY DERBY UPDATE
May 4, 2025

SOVEREIGNTY - Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott drew a crowd Sunday morning at Barn 19 as he and Godolphin’s director of bloodstock Michael Banahan reviewed the previous day’s proceedings at Churchill Downs.

Their Godolphin charge had run the race of his brief career on a sloppy Churchill Downs strip to come away a length and a half winner in the $5 million Kentucky Derby in front of 147,406 cheering fans and tens of millions of television viewers across the world.

With Mott’s go-to rider Junior Alvarado in the saddle, Sovereignty overcame a series of obstacles in his mile and a quarter journey, chief of which was the dead-game colt Journalism whom he encountered entering the stretch in a showdown that had the crowd roaring. Digging in like the good horse he is, Sovereignty started to inch clear, then eased out front to his final margin at the finish line.

“You know,” Mott said Sunday, “I’ve been in this game a long time and I’ve dreamed about having my horse go across the finish line first in the Kentucky Derby. And now it’s finally happened and it feels very good.”

The trainer noted that his horse suffered “a small scrape – about four inches” on his right front pastern during the running, likely when he clipped heels with a rival right out of the gate. He said it was nothing serious, but that anything to do with a horse’s legs are always a concern.

“When I got back to the barn last night after the race,” he added, “he’d already eaten up, his tub was empty. Probably did it in 20 minutes. That’s unusual for a horse that had to run a race as hard as he did.”

The trainer said he’s likely give the horse two or three days off as he and the horse’s ownership connections considered whether to take the next logical Triple Crown step in Baltimore for the Preakness.

“We’ve got to consider all options with him,” he stated. “We certainly respect the Triple Crown and what it means, but we’re not dead set on it. We’ll have to let the horse tell us how he’s doing in the next little while and then we’ll go from there.”

JOURNALISM (Second) – “We’ve got no complaints.”

Trainer Michael McCarthy was reflecting on his Kentucky Derby experience Sunday morning at Barn 35 following his colt Journalism’s gallant effort in which he finished second behind Sovereignty in the 151st edition of the Run for the Roses.

His Curlin colt had a tough beginning in the mile and a quarter because of traffic and wasn’t able to obtain the close-up stalking position his connections had hoped for until well along on the backside, then turned in a stout run around the turn and into the lane, only to be outdone by the winner.

“With a field this size in a race like this, it’s all about the trip,” McCarthy said. “It didn’t quite work out the way we hoped, but he ran a good race against a good horse.”

The main thing, the conditioner said, was that his horse was “in good order this morning and everything going forward is now in play.”

That would indicate the possibility that his charge’s next start could be in two weeks in Baltimore in the Preakness Stakes and a possible second go-round with the Derby winner.

BAEZA (Third) – The Kentucky Derby third-place finisher was doing fine back at Barn 41 Sunday morning following his stellar effort in the mile and a quarter classic Saturday.

After almost not getting to compete in the race after being hung out on the Derby also-eligible list until Thursday evening, the good-looking son of the young stallion McKinzie took rider Flavien Prat for an adventuresome trip on a sloppy strip in which he closed through the lane with every stride.

“Quite a trip for him, this whole week,” trainer John Shirreffs said Sunday morning. “He’s never been on a wet surface before, so there was that. Then that big field and the bumping that went on. But in the end he ran well and we’re proud of him.”

The conditioner said the Preakness was not a consideration for the bay youngster.

“Too much for a West Coast horse to work with,” he said. “We’ll go back west, then look at the Belmont.” The third leg of the Triple Crown will be run this year on June 7 at Saratoga in upstate New York as Belmont Park continues to undergo its massive renovation. It also will be run at a mile and a quarter instead of the classic distance of a mile and one-half.

FINAL GAMBIT (Fourth) – Juddmonte’s Final Gambit was back at trainer Brad Cox’s Barn 22 Sunday morning resting after his fourth-place finish in Kentucky Derby 151.

“We’re really proud of his effort – especially this being his first start on dirt,” Cox said. “Maybe if the pace was a little bit faster it could’ve benefited him even more. Overall it was a good effort. He’s a good horse. We’ll see how it goes from here.” Final Gambit earned a 99 Brisnet Speed Rating.

OWEN ALMIGHTY (Fifth) – Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing’s Owen Almighty, who led the field into the stretch “seems to have come out of the race in good order,” trainer Brian Lynch said.

“We will let the dust, or mud, settle and talk with the team but possibly the ($500,000) Woody Stephens next.”

BURNHAM SQUARE (Sixth) – Whitham Thoroughbreds’ Burnham Square came out of his troubled sixth-place finish in the Derby in good order.

“I jogged him and he looks good,” trainer Ian Wilkes said.

Burnham Square was put in tight quarters at the half-mile pole when Admire Daytona (JPN) came in on him.

“In a 20-horse field, somebody is going to have trouble and I guess it was my turn,” Wilkes said. “I thought he ran a terrific race. He got stopped at the half-mile pole when everybody else was making their move and then he got going again to get sixth. Without the trouble, I think he would have been in the top three.”

Plans going forward for Burnham Square are to be determined.

SANDMAN (Seventh) – D. J. Stable, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables’ Sandman was doing well Sunday morning following his Kentucky Derby run.

“He is good this morning,” said Allen Hardy, assistant to Mark Casse. “He ate up last night and jogged early this morning (at the barn).”

Casse indicated that the Belmont Stakes likely would be next for Sandman.

EAST AVENUE (Eighth) – Godolphin’s East Avenue was back at trainer Brendan Walsh’s Barn 10 Sunday morning following his eighth-place finish in Kentucky Derby 151.

 “This was my second time running in the Derby and I was able to take it in a little more this time,” Walsh said. “The atmosphere is unbelievable. I’ve been in lots of places all over the world and this is second to none.”

East Avenue was given an 89 Brisnet Speed Rating, an eight-point regression from his Blue Grass Stakes runner-up effort four weeks ago.

CHUNK OF GOLD (Ninth) – Terry Stephens’ Chunk of Gold exited his Kentucky Derby run in good order according to trainer Ethan West.

“The horse is OK,” West said of Chunk of Gold, who will leave Churchill Downs around 10 a.m. to return to Turfway Park. “I think the mile and a quarter probably got to him. He will get a couple weeks off and there are plenty of 3-year-old races across the summer for him.”

TIZTASTIC (10th)/PUBLISHER (14th) – While things didn’t go as planned for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, the veteran horseman still had reason to celebrate – he earned his record-extending 14th leading trainer title at Oaklawn.

The Asmussen family was represented Saturday at both tracks, with sons Erik and Keith accepting the trophy at Oaklawn, while Steve, his wife Julie, and their other son, Darren, were at Churchill Downs.

COAL BATTLE (11th) – Norman Stables’ Coal Battle was doing well Sunday morning according to assistant and exercise rider Bethany Taylor, who added, “he’s probably a little mad and grouchy this morning because he’s not used to being that far back.”

Trainer Lonnie Briley said he’s going to let the horse tell us where to take him next. He wants to watch and see how much the race took out of him. He thinks the track condition didn’t play a factor into how he ran but the rough trip.

LUXOR CAFÉ (12th)/ ADMIRE DAYTONA (JPN) (19th) – From Kate Hunter, Japan Kentucky Derby liaison: “Both Japanese horses came back from the race in good condition. Junko Kondo’s Admire Daytona (JPN) was not a fan of the slop. He was well positioned, but it wore him out. Traffic ultimately thwarted Koichi Nishikawa’s Luxor Café who was unable to get a good spot early. Both could come back for the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) on Nov. 1 at Del Mar – no rain in Southern California.”

CITIZEN BULL (15th) – The morning after Derby was fairly quiet at Bob Baffert’s Barn 33. Right-hand man Jimmy Barnes was overseeing operations and he reported that their Derby colt – pacesetter Citizen Bull – had come back from his efforts in fine fettle.

“He’s fine,” Barnes reported. “He’ll walk for a couple of days and then we’ll see what’s up from there.”

Citizen Bull set quick early splits from his post 1 position under Martin Garcia, going :22.81, :46.23 and 1:10.78 for the first six furlongs. He ran out of gas from there and fell back to finish 15th in the 19-horse field.

Another Baffert runner – the Authentic colt Rodriguez – was also set to start in the Derby, but a bruised foot kept him in the barn Saturday. Sunday morning the trainer stated that his only Preakness runner would be Rodriguez, meaning that Citizen Bull shortly would likely be on a plane back to California along with the dozen other runners the conditioner shipped east to compete during the week.

AMERICAN PROMISE (16th) – BC Stables’ American Promise came out of his Derby effort in good order according to Bas Nicholl, assistant to trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

“Magnificent,” Nicholl reported of American Promise, who was part of the pace before beginning a retreat entering the far turn.

FLYING MOHAWK (18th) – It was a disappointing Saturday evening for the connections of Flying Mohawk who finished 18th in Kentucky Derby 151 after he experienced trouble in the first quarter-mile of the race.

“The sun still rose at Churchill and ‘Mohawk’ is still the man,” co-owner Jeff Berry said. “Thanks to Flying Mohawk and the entire team for an incredible life experience for the Berry family.”