By Steve Sherack
DEL MAR, Calif. — Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday's $7-million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar, will be scratched. The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form's David Grening.
The GI Kentucky Derby, GI Belmont Stakes and GI DraftKings Travers S. hero spiked a fever Monday evening after breezing four furlongs earlier that day. Treated with an anti-inflammatory, there was an outside chance that the Godolphin homebred could still make the race. That ended on Tuesday afternoon.
“If it didn't go away, we were going to have a problem,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said. “And it didn't go away. “(Assistant trainer) Neil (Poznansky) called me (Tuesday afternoon) and said it had jumped back up. We retreated him and, at that point, it's not even a conversation. (Sovereignty) made the decision. That is what we said from the beginning–if he re-spiked, he would be out.”
Sovereignty's defection leaves a field of nine for the Classic. Last year's Classic runner-up and 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Fierceness (City of Light) is the revised 5-2 morning-line favorite.
“Yes, I feel sorry for him and, frankly, my staff. Everybody was excited about it,” Mott said. “And the fans. I really think this horse was a fan favorite at this point and I feel badly that they are not going to be able to see him participate. I think a lot of people were really looking forward to seeing him run and seeing that race with him in it.”
— Steve Sherack (@SteveSherackTDN) October 29, 2025
Sovereignty will ship to Kentucky when it is deemed that he is well enough to travel. Future plans for Sovereignty are still to be determined.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
