A seven-year Triple Crown drought has once again ignited the debate on how far trainers and horses are willing to push. While fans were eager to see if Sovereignty could go the distance, winning all three legs of the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes), trainer Bill Mott dashed those hopes. He announced the Derby winner wouldn’t race at the ‘middle jewel’ of the Triple Crown. “We want the career to last more than five weeks,” Mott explained about their decision to prioritize the Derby Champion’s health over glory.
Naturally, the decision divided the fan base as experts as the frequency of races, horses’ welfare, and everything in between came under scrutiny. And now, the 2025 Preakness Stakes runner-up has fanned the flames after following in Sovereignty’s footsteps post-Preakness 150. The horse that nearly won the Triple Crown’s second leg after taking a five-length lead has a similar reason, too.
“I don’t think we’re going to go to the Belmont. I think we’ll give him a little more time,” Gosger’s trainer, Brendan Walsh, told the Form. Instead of chasing the rematch against Preakness 150 winner Journalism, who ran down that five-length lead and beat Gosger, at the Belmont Stakes, Walsh will give his horse more time. “We’ll see how the next few weeks go. I think he’ll improve,” added the trainer.
The Harvey A. Clarke Racing Stables horse ran a furious race on May 17, and his trainer wanted to give the colt the rest he needed to recover. So instead of competing in the final leg of the Triple Crown, Gosger will target one of two upcoming stakes in July. Walsh explained that Gosger could run the G1 Haskell Invitational, a $1 million race at 1 1/8 miles at Monmouth Park, on July 19.
Credits: Instagram/Kentucky Derby
If they can’t make that, Gosger will try his luck at the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, a $500,000 race at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga on July 26. It will all depend on Gosger’s health. That being said, the Belmont Stakes field predictions indicate the final leg of the Triple Crown could be super competitive.
The stakes could be very high at the Belmont Stakes
Fans expressed their disappointment after the Derby winner pulled out of the Preakness 150. They were keen to watch pre-Derby favorite Journalism have a rematch with the winner. While Mott’s decision not to compete ended the anticipation, we could see a rematch on June 7. While they’ve not made it official, the 2025 Derby winner came to Saratoga Race Course shortly after leaving Churchill Downs.
Bill Mott had nothing but praise for his horse when Sovereignty arrived at Saratoga within a week after winning the Derby on May 3. “He came off the van like a tiger. He’s had good energy for a horse that just ran a race like that,” the two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer said, as per a May 8 report by the Paulick Report. Meanwhile, Journalism pulled a nearly impossible feat at Pimlico.
Credits: Instagram/Preakness Stakes
The Derby runner-up lived up to the hype and then some after catching and beating Gosger despite a collision with Goal Oriented. While Journalism’s trainer, Michael McCarthy, has also remained silent on the Preakness 150 winner competing at the Belmont Stakes, they also made a late entry for the Preakness Stakes. In fact, McCarthy thinks running all three races would be quite an achievement in itself.
“It would be three races in five weeks but if the horse is doing as well as he’s doing now it would be hard to offer up any excuses,” McCarthy said on May 18 about Journalism’s chances of competing at the Belmont Stakes. What’s more? Bob Baffert could bring his original Kentucky Derby contender, Rodriguez, to Belmont. Meanwhile, third-place finisher at the Kentucky Derby, Baeza, is among the probable contenders. Safe to say things could get super competitive at Belmont.
The post Shocking Defeat to Journalism Leads Preakness Runner-Up to Pull Sovereignty-Like Move for Belmont Stakes appeared first on EssentiallySports.
