On May 3, during the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Sovereignty took home the win despite some tough, muddy conditions. So, Sovereignty, trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, really pulled off an impressive feat by coming from the 18th post position. He finished the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:02.31, beating the 3-1 favorite, Journalism, who ended up in second place. Baeza came in third, while Final Gambit took fourth place.
This win was Alvarado’s first Derby victory and Mott’s second, with his first one back in 2019. There was a lot of excitement around Journalism, but the colt ended up with a tough second-place finish. It seems like Journalism’s jockey has some thoughts on the race, hinting at a potential challenge to the Kentucky Derby winner.
In a chat after the race with Scott Hazelton on FanDuel Racing’s YouTube channel, Umberto Rispoli mentioned, “They won by a couple of lengths. On the mud today, he was the best horse. Definitely, just to swallow the pill better, I would fight him on the better ground. Look, I think there’s a lot of question marks when those things happen like that, Scott. Because the track is like that. He’s never been on this track. So I would say, let’s say then I lost the battle, not the war. So it is what it is.”
The Italian jockey thought about how the race turned out and the tough conditions of the track. He noted that Sovereignty, the horse that won, really thrived in the muddy conditions that day. Rispoli mentioned that if the track had been dry, the results could have been different, showing he thinks Journalism could really shine in better conditions.
For sure, if you check out the colt’s track record, it’s looking pretty good. Journalism never lost a race since that first win at Del Mar on November 17, 2024. So, with this second-place finish at the Kentucky Derby, it’s now the second time in his career that he didn’t cross the finish line in first place. But you know, there’s a really interesting story behind Sovereignty’s win at Churchill Downs.
The story of the jockey who won against Journalism
Not many people thought Journalism would lose the Kentucky Derby. But you know, horse racing can be pretty unpredictable, and all the buzz around it definitely added to the excitement this year. The win for sovereignty was more than just a G1 event victory; it really showed a sense of pure redemption. Junior Alvarado, the jockey for the colt, went through a really tough situation not too long ago.
“I was just like devastated. But, you know, I got a call from Mr. Mott, like the day after I left the hospital, and he said to me, ‘Listen, when you get back, you’ll get to ride all your horses back,’” Alvarado shared about his injury. The jockey hit a big bump in the road when he ended up fracturing his shoulder blade. This injury also sidelined him during Sovereignty’s run in the Florida Derby. Alvarado felt really down about the timing and the impact of his injury on his career.
But then, right after he left the hospital, he received a supportive call from trainer Bill Mott. He remembered Mott saying, “‘You get to ride Sovereignty back. So, you do what you need to do.’ And that gave me peace of mind, and I think that actually helped me to do what I needed to do just the right way, so I can heal up quick. And I just did that.” Mott was there for his jockey, offering the mental support he needed during those tough times. So, Alvarado bounced back and made history on May 3 with his horse, Sovereignty.
The post Journalism’s Jockey Makes Subtle Challenge to Sovereignty After Shocking Kentucky Derby Result: “Lost the Battle, Not the War” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
