LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Sovereignty wins the 151st running of the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.
Sovereignty outdueled 3-1 favorite Journalism down the stretch for an electric finish.
Trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado. This is the first Derby win for Godolphin and Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktouem. Mott won the Kentucky Derby in 2019 with Country House, but only after Maximum Security was disqualified.
It was quite a weekend for the sheikh. His filly, Good Cheer, won the Kentucky Oaks on Friday and earlier Saturday, Ruling Court — a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify — won the 2,000 Guineas in Britain.
“I've had quite a long relationship with the Godolphin team and the man behind the Godolphin operation, Sheikh Mohammed,” Mott said. “I'm just honored.”
Most satisfying was guiding Sovereignty past other horses in the slop before drawing a bead on 3-1 favorite Journalism and chasing him down.
Journalism found trouble in the first turn and jockey Umberto Rispoli moved him to the outside. He and Sovereignty hooked up at the eighth pole before Sovereignty and jockey Junior Alvarado pulled away.
“Junior did a terrific job of getting him over,” Mott said. “Fortunately, there was a lot of speed in the race. It set up well for us because they had an honest pace. ... He tipped him out and got him in a spot that he was going to be clear down the backside.”
“I saw the blue silks (of Godolphin) coming at us and I knew that was the one we were going to have to be concerned about,” said Michael McCarthy, Journalism's trainer. “The winner ran a better race.”
The winner covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.31.
“Still sinking in, to be honest,” the 38-year-old Venezuelan rider said of his breakthrough in nine tries. "It means the world to me, for me and my family. Coming from my country where the only race we would be able to watch back there was just the Kentucky Derby.
“I said that would be nice to be in the United States and ride in the Kentucky Derby. Little by little I started to point that out to be, to make it come true. Today, we did just that.”
Alvarado’s Derby win highlights a career of Grade 1 triumphs, many on some of horse racing’s biggest stages. He earned a Triple Crown win in the 2021 Preakness on Rombauer, has a handful of Breeders’ Cup Championships and won the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational two years ago aboard Mott-trained Art Collector at Gulfstream Park in Florida
Saturday's impressive performance came after the Venezuelan rider fractured his shoulder in a March 23 fall at Gulfstream after his horse had a heart attack. Alvarado returned three weeks later at Keeneland and won a couple of claiming races at Churchill Downs this week — which included another fall on Thursday — before bouncing back with a signature ride.
Riding Sovereignty was never in question despite the injury. He missed the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29 — where Manny Franco rode the bay colt to a second-place finish behind Tappan Street — but Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott reiterated that as long as Alvarado was healthy, the horse he rode to two graded stakes wins on the Derby trail awaited him.
“It gave me peace of mind,” the jockey added.
The next step was clearing several obstacles as the 9-1 third betting choice coming out of the gate.
For starters, clipping heels with a competitor as the 19-horse field passed the grandstand the first time. There was concern that Sovereignty might lose a shoe from the contact. Then, making sure he didn't lose too much ground while rounding the turns.
“When we turned to the backside, he was still traveling very beautifully until we hit the five(-eighths) pole,” Alvarado said. “That's when he kind of said to me, ‘I’m ready.'”
Sovereignty’s win helped his sire, Into Mischief, tie the record for most Derby winners as a sire. Into Mischief sired 2020 Derby winner Authentic, 2021 winner Mandaloun and, of course, Sovereignty.
Next up is the Preakness in two weeks, but according to the Daily Racing Form, Sovereignty isn't a sure bet for the race.
Baeza was third, Final Gambit was fourth and Owen Almighty finished fifth. Burnham Square was sixth, followed by Sandman, East Avenue, Chunk of Gold, Tiztastic, Coal Battle, Neoequos, Publisher, Citizen Bull, American Promise, Render Judgment, Flying Mohawk and Admire Daytona.
Citizen Bull, the lone entry for six-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert, set the pace. Baffert was back on the first Saturday in May having serving a three-year suspension by Churchill Downs after his Medina Spirit crossed the finish line first in 2021 and failed a postrace drug test.
D. Wayne Lukas, the 89-year-old four-time Derby winner, saw his colt American Promise finish right behind Baffert in 15th.
Rain made for a soggy day, with the Churchill Downs dirt strip listed as sloppy and horse racing fans protecting their fancy hats and clothing with clear plastic ponchos.
Here is the top three finishers and the payout.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.