Racing Royalty: Sovereignty Completes Historic Weekend for Godolphin in Kentucky Derby

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the winner with authority of the 2025 GI Kentucky Derby.

The Godolphin homebred launched from the clouds and powered by favored Journalism (Curlin) after a flawless ride from Junior Alvarado to secure the 151st Run for the Roses before a rain-soaked crowd of 147,406 at Churchill Downs. The blue-blooded Baeza (McKinzie) rallied for third.

Sovereignty completed the Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31 over a sloppy-and-sealed track.

The victory completed a monumental weekend for Sheikh Mohammed's global operation, which also won Friday's GI Kentucky Oaks with Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) and Saturday's G1 2000 Guineas with Ruling Court (Justify). Sovereignty is Sheikh Mohammed's much-deserved first Kentucky Derby winner.

“It's been a long time in the coming,” Godolphin's Michael Banahan said. “We've had a few good chances in the past. We had (champion) Essential Quality (crossed the wire fourth as the favorite) a few years ago, and it just wasn't his day on the day.

But to be able to win the Oaks yesterday and then back it up with the Derby today–I didn't know the date of it, but it hasn't been done in 60, 70 years or something like that. So, to be able to do that for our boss, the founder of Godolphin, Sheikh Mohammed, is so, so special.”

Sovereignty is the second Kentucky Derby winner for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who also saddled the promoted victor Country House in 2019.

“I was lucky enough to do this with my family,” Mott said. “We had quite the celebration. It's such a great feeling. I'm so proud of the horse. I'm so proud of everyone who had anything to do with the horse to get him to this point. It takes a family and takes a community to get him ready. From the matings, to raising them as babies, to breaking them as 2-year-olds, we were so lucky to get him in the barn. It's just a special feeling to have it happen for the team. For my regular rider Junior Alvarado, it made it so special. I've had quite a long relationship with the Godolphin team and the man behind the Godolphin operation Sheikh Mohammed–I'm just honored.”

Alvarado, just three weeks removed from an injury-enforced absence, was piloting his first Kentucky Derby winner.

“Going to the first turn I tried to save ground,” Alvarado said. “When I turned to the backside, he was traveling beautifully. When we hit the five-eighths pole, he said he was ready. I didn't want to get too excited. When we turned for home, I got him in the clear and showed his stuff. I knew what he was capable of.”

Sovereignty is the third Kentucky Derby winner for the all-conquering Into Mischief in the last five years. Godolphin won the 2023 Kentucky Oaks with Into Mischief's Pretty Mischievous.

How The Race Was Won…

On the board at 9-1 until the final minutes, the tote read 7-1 when the latch was sprung beneath ominous skies at 7:05 p.m. and it was a clean-enough beginning from post 16 for Sovereignty, who settled with three or four rivals behind.

Champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), meanwhile, caused a ruckus veering out dramatically beneath Martin Garcia from his rail draw, and went at it with Neoequos (Neolithic) passing the Twin Spires for the first time.

The GI Santa Anita Derby winner Journalism, off as the very deserving and imposing 3-1 favorite, was also off to a decent start and found his way into a ground-saving position from midfield for Umberto Rispoli. Alvarado was content to sit against Sovereignty at the back, but felt for his mount passing the half-mile marker, and Sovereignty accelerated sharply.

It was the right move at just the right time, as Rispoli had gotten Journalism away from the inside and into about the five path, and went for his own run on the turn.

Only a length or two in arrears as they neared the stretch, with Owen Almighty (Speightstown) now at the head of affairs, Journalism and Sovereignty raced as a team past the eighth pole, the race squarely between them.

Journalism fought on bravely under a left-handed crop, but Sovereignty was always going better and went on to take the first leg of the Triple Crown by 1 1/2 lengths.

Drawn on the also-eligible list, Santa Anita Derby runner-up Baeza, the half-brother to Good Magic's Classic winners Mage and Dornoch, drew in to the body of the field after the first of two defections and rallied smartly to just miss second by a neck.

The GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Final Gambit (Not This Time) came from last of 19 following a nightmare start from his inside draw to round out the superfecta in his dirt debut.

Derby Winning Form

Sovereignty touted himself all week during his morning preparations as well as his two local breezes and successfully returned to the scene of his jaw-dropping, last-to-first maiden win in the GIII Street Sense S. last fall. He was an impossible winner in his belated sophomore return (due to a fever) in the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 1 over a Gulfstream Park surface very well-known for not playing kindly to his come-from-behind running style, then lost little in defeat there four weeks later, completing the exacta in the GI Curlin Florida Derby. He is the 26th Kentucky Derby winner to exit the Florida Derby. His 2-year-old form also included a debut fourth in the always-loaded Travers day maiden at Saratoga, which was highlighted in these same pages in our 'Second Chances' series.

Pedigree Notes

If he keeps going at this rate, superlatives will fail to adequately capture the impact six-time leading sire Into Mischief is making on the sport. Spendthrift Farm's flagship stallion is now the sire of three Kentucky Derby winners, joining historic stallions of yesteryear Virgil, Falsetto, Sir Gallahad III, and Bull Lea with a record-tying three winners. All of the four previous record stallions took at least a decade to get their winners: Virgil's occurred from 1876-1886, Falsetto's from 1894-1906, Sir Gallahad's from 1930-1945, and Bull Lea's from 1948-1957. Into Mischief's trio, including Authentic and Mandaloun, have won the Derby between 2020 and 2025, while his sire son, Goldencents, sired last year's winner, Mystik Dan. Remarkably, that's four of the past six Derby winners directly affected by Into Mischief.

A son of Harlan's Holiday, a Storm Cat-line stallion who was the favorite in the 2002 Derby but finished off the board, Into Mischief is the sire of 173 black-type winners to date. His 84 graded winners include 24 Grade I winners and six Eclipse champions.

John Ferguson purchased Sovereignty's dam, the unraced Crowned, on behalf of Godolphin for $1.2 million as a yearling in 2014 at the Keeneland September sale. Not only is Crowned a daughter of 2009 GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes winner Mushka, but she is by Darley's exceptional late home stallion, Bernardini. Daughters of Bernardini have produced 113 stakes winners, including Godolphin's reigning champion 2-year-old filly, Immersive (Nyquist). Sovereignty is the third Into Mischief graded winner out of a Bernardini mare.

Crowned, whose last foal is a yearling colt by Nyquist, died in 2024. She also produced two older full-sisters to Sovereignty, including the winning Jane Grey, who has a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro.

Sovereignty's granddam Mushka was featured in her retirement at New Vocations/Mereworth Farm in TDN in 2021. While she once sold for $2.4 million, Mushka only produced five foals after suffering from fertility issues. She is a granddaughter of Seattle Slew's MGISW Lakeway and traces tail-female to the wonderful Nellie Flag, who was Calumet Farm's first champion. That mare was favored in the 1935 Kentucky Derby, but finished fourth, and then served as one of Calumet's foundation broodmares. In addition to Sovereignty, another Derby winner directly descended from Nellie Flag is 1976 winner Bold Forbes. —Jill Williams

What They're Saying

“He broke well. But at the eighth pole the first time by he got shuffled by a horse just to our outside over toward the rail. But Umberto (Rispoli) got him in the clear and he was in a good spot all the way through the backside. He made a nice middle move, then on the turn for home he opened up but I saw the blue silks coming at us and I knew that was the one we were going to have to be concerned about. He ran on the best he could and he ran a very good race. But the winner ran a better race.”

—Michael McCarthy (Trainer, Journalism, second)

“From the outside, I thought the pace would be a bit stronger. I wasn't able to get myself inside. I didn't like the horse I was following in the first turn. Down the backside I got a better position to try and get a breather. He made a really good run.”

—Flavien Prat (Jockey, Baeza, third)

“I'm really proud of the effort. With this big of a field, it's really hard to close from last but that's his style. This gives us confidence to try a fast dirt surface in the future.” —Brad Cox (Trainer, Final Gambit, fourth)

“It was a very exciting race. For a horse that was questionable to get the mile and a quarter, he did very very well. He actually made the lead inside the quarter pole and then held on for fifth. We're delighted with his effort” —Brian Lynch (Trainer, Owen Almighty, fifth)

“He actually ran a really, really good race. I had a rough trip around going into the second turn because of Admire Daytona. He stopped pretty badly, and he was tired, and he fell down into the fence on top of us and I had to steady pretty hard. We lost all momentum but then he ran on big down the lane just to be sixth. I was really, really pleased with the way he traveled over to the racetrack the first part of the race because he broke and put me in a great spot and we were able to save ground the whole way like we wanted to. It was just unfortunate circumstances, but that many horses going that far that Admire Daytona just kind of died off at the worst possible time.” —Brian Hernandez, Jr. (Jockey, Burnham Square, sixth)

SOVEREIGNTY WINS THE KENTUCKY DERBY!

Bill Mott trains and @JuniorandKellyA was aboard for @godolphin! pic.twitter.com/wOzqOFVRkb

TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) May 3, 2025

Saturday, Churchill Downs
KENTUCKY DERBY PRESENTED BY WOODFORD RESERVE-GI, $5,000,000, Churchill Downs, 5-3, 3yo, 1 1/4m, 2:02.31, sy.
1–SOVEREIGNTY, 126, c, 3, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Crowned, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Mushka, by Empire Maker
3rd Dam: Sluice, by Seeking the Gold
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $3,100,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-2-0, $3,672,800. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Journalism, 126, c, 3, Curlin–Mopotism, by Uncle Mo. ($825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG). O-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Robert V. LaPenta, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. $1,000,000.
3–Baeza, 126, c, 3, McKinzie–Puca, by Big Brown. ($1,200,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine; B-Grandview Equine (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs. $500,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, 2HF. Odds: 7.98, 3.42, 13.86.
Also Ran: Final Gambit, Owen Almighty, Burnham Square, Sandman, East Avenue, Chunk of Gold, Tiztastic, Coal Battle, Luxor Cafe, Neoequos, Publisher, Citizen Bull, American Promise, Render Judgment, Flying Mohawk, Admire Daytona (Jpn). Scratched: Grande, Rodriguez.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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