Cover image courtesy of Kentucky Derby
Sovereignty wins Kentucky Derby for Godolphin
By Steve Sherack, TDN
Sovereignty (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}), the winner with authority of the 2025 G1 Kentucky Derby. The Godolphin homebred launched from the clouds and powered by favoured Journalism (USA) (Curlin {USA}) 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 (USA) (McKinzie {USA}) rallied for third.
Sovereignty completed the Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31s over a sloppy-and-sealed track.
The victory completed a monumental weekend for Sheikh Mohammed's global operation, which also won Friday's G1 Kentucky Oaks with Good Cheer (USA) (Medaglia d'Oro {USA}) and Saturday's G1 2000 Guineas with Ruling Court (USA) (Justify {USA}). 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 (who crossed the wire fourth as the favourite) a few years ago, and it just wasn't his day on the day.
Michael Banahan | Image courtesy of Keeneland
“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.”
“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.” - Michael Banahan
Sovereignty is the second Kentucky Derby winner for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who also saddled the promoted victor Country House (USA) 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.”
Sovereignty and Junior Alvarado | Image courtesy of Churchill Downs
Alvarado, just three weeks removed from an injury-enforced absence, was piloting his first Kentucky Derby winner.
Sovereignty is the third Kentucky Derby winner for the all-conquering Into Mischief (USA) in the last five years. Godolphin won the 2023 Kentucky Oaks with Into Mischief's Pretty Mischievous (USA).
Into Mischief’s long-term impact
By Jill Williams, TDN
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 (USA) and Mandaloun (USA), have won the Derby between 2020 and 2025, while his sire son, Goldencents (USA), sired last year's winner, Mystik Dan (USA). Remarkably, that's four of the past six Derby winners directly affected by Into Mischief.
A son of Harlan's Holiday (USA), a Storm Cat (USA)-line stallion who was the favourite 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 1 winners and six Eclipse champions.
Into Mischief (USA)| Standing at Spendthrift Farm Stud
John Ferguson purchased Sovereignty's dam, the unraced Crowned (USA), on behalf of Godolphin for US$1.2 million (AU$1.86 million) as a yearling in 2014 at the Keeneland September sale. Not only is Crowned a daughter of 2009 G1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes winner Mushka (USA), but she is by Darley's exceptional late home stallion, Bernardini (USA). Daughters of Bernardini have produced 113 stakes winners, including Godolphin's reigning champion 2-year-old filly, Immersive (USA) (Nyquist {USA}). Sovereignty is the third Into Mischief graded winner out of a Bernardini mare.
Crowned, whose last foal is a yearling colt by Nyquist (USA), died in 2024. She also produced two older full-sisters to Sovereignty, including the winning Jane Grey (USA), who has a yearling filly by Medaglia d'Oro.
Record wagering for Derby day
All-sources wagering on the 141st running of the G1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs Saturday set a new record of US$349 million (AU$540 million), smashing the previous record of US$320.5 million (AU$512 million) established in 2024. All-sources wagering on the Derby alone was a record US$234.4 million (AU$362 million), easily surpassing the previous high-water mark of US$210.7 million (AU$326 million) recorded in 2024.
Bill Carstanjen | Image courtesy of Churchill Downs Incorporated
G1 Turf Classic won by Spirit Of St Louis
By Alan Carasso, TDN
From his nine previous rides on the veteran New York-bred Spirit of St Louis (USA) (Medaglia d'Oro {USA}), jockey Manny Franco had amassed an enviable record of seven wins and two second-place efforts, one of those defeats coming by a flared nostril.
The Turf Classic was yet another feather in the cap for the ageless Medaglia d'Oro (USA), who was not only represented by Kentucky Oaks heroine Good Cheer on Friday, but also by the talented sophomore turf filly Nitrogen (USA).
Chester Broman purchased Spirit of St Louis's second dam Confidently (USA), a full-sister to the stakes-winning sire Yankee Gentleman (USA) (Storm Cat {USA}), for US$1 million (AU$1.55 million) in foal to Mr. Prospector (USA) at the 2000 Keeneland November Sale and she produced five winners from six to race, the best of which was Khancord Kid (USA), winner of the 2010 G3 Herecomesthebride Stakes for the Bromans' former trainer John Kimmel.
Kopion wins G1 City Distaff Stakes
By Jill Williams, TDN
Leading into the first Saturday in May, the Beyer Speed Figure benchmark for the year hadn't been set by one of the star 3-year-olds in the nation, but by the 4-year-old California campaigner Kopion (USA) (Omaha Beach {USA}), who closed out her 2024 season as a surprise 37-1 victress in the G1 La Brea Stakes on Santa Anita's opening day in December.
On Saturday, she made it three in a row and proved her last-out, year-topping 110 Beyer Speed Figure was no fluke as she made the trip to Churchill Downs and proved much the best in a salty renewal of the G1 Derby City Distaff Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Hope Road (USA) (Quality Road {USA}), who finished behind Kopion in both the Santa Monica and the La Brea, held for second, 0.75l in front of the slight favourite, last year's G1 Test Stakes winner Ways and Means (USA) (Practical Joke {USA}).
Kopion winning the G1 Derby City Distaff Stakes | Image courtesy of Spendthrift Farm Stud
Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, one of the most respected and patient trainers in the game, tends to ship his runners only when they merit a serious shot. Omaha Beach (USA), sire of Kopion and the morning-line favourite in the 2019 Derby, was one of the horses Mandella previously shipped to Churchill, but he had to be withdrawn the Wednesday before the Derby that year with an entrapped epiglottis. Mandella had to wait another six years, but it's doubtful anyone will begrudge him a Grade 1 win at Churchill on the first Saturday in May, nor the poetic justice of doing it with a daughter of his previously scratched Derby favourite.
Bred in Kentucky by Tall Oaks Farm and purchased by Spendthrift, who stands her sire, for US$270,000 (AU$418,000) at the 2022 Keneeland September sale, Kopion is one of two Grade 1 winners and one of four graded winners for Omaha Beach, while he has also sired last year's filly who beat the boys in the King's Plate, Caitlinhergrtness (USA).
Omaha Beach (USA) | Standing at Spendthrift Farm
Deserving win for Mindframe in Churchill Downs Stakes
By Steve Sherack, TDN
A frustrating runner-up in last year's G1 Belmont Stakes and G1 NYRA Bets Haskell S., Mindframe (USA) (Constitution {USA}) put it all together for a much-deserved first Grade 1 victory in a heart-stopping and completely stacked renewal of the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Mindframe began to wind up on the far turn, took the overland route at the top of the stretch and came storming down the centre of the saturated Churchill Downs surface to just get there by a neck in a blanket finish in a race that didn't deserve a loser.
Winning Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher added, “I told Irad just to ride with confidence and it looks like he did exactly that. He's such a versatile horse. From just missing last year in the Belmont and now winning a Grade 1 going seven-eighths. It just shows how special of a horse he is.”
“He's (Mindframe) such a versatile horse. From just missing last year in the Belmont and now winning a Grade 1 going seven-eighths. It just shows how special of a horse he is.” - Todd Pletcher
The Maryland-bred Mindframe, a US$600,000 (AU$929,000) Keeneland September yearling, becomes the 12th Grade/Group 1 winner worldwide for Constitution (USA). Broodmare sire Street Sense (USA) was also responsible for Friday's Kentucky Oaks heroine Good Cheer, and is now responsible for three winners at the top level.
Mindframe (USA) and Irad Ortiz after winning the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes | Image courtesy of Kentucky Derby
Zulu Kingdom wins American Turf Stakes
By Alan Carasso, TDN
A well-backed favourite in the G1 American Turf Stakes, newly upgraded to Grade 1 status, Zulu Kingdom (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) sat a perfect trip from close up, took over inside the final furlong and outlasted his chief market rivals Test Score (USA) (Lookin At Lucky {USA}) and European raider New Century (GB) (Kameko {USA}) for the victory.
“I thought this horse was basically a miler but he handled the mile and a sixteenth today just fine,” said trainer Chad Brown, winning the race for the third time. “That might open up some new possibilities. Flavien (Prat) and I discussed his most recent races and the one thing we most wanted was to get this horse covered up early. When he sees open daylight, he wants to pull. But fortunately today, a couple of horses went out early in front of us and we the exact trip we were hoping for.”
Zulu Kingdom is one of two winners at the graded/group level and becomes the first top-level scorer for Ten Sovereigns, a son of No Nay Never (USA).
Zulu Kingdom (Ire) and Flavien Prat after winning the G1 American Turf Stakes | Image courtesy of Churchill Downs
