Ahead of the Eclipse Awards ceremony, our questions are answered by the Hall of Fame trainer who saddled Sovereignty to win a pair of US Classics and the Travers Stakes in 2025
Bill Mott has been there, done that, got the t-shirt and trained a bona fide superstar – and he could easily have another on his hands if Sovereignty brings his A-game to the table again.
The Godolphin homebred is set to be named US Horse of the Year at this week’s Eclipse Awards after a sublime 2025 in which he captured the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes before an awesoe display in the Travers.
However, that was the last time Sovereignty was seen as a late fever ruled him out of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, for which he was the hot favourite. “I was over it the next day,” says the Hall of Fame trainer, who has saddled more than 5,000 winners. “I don’t dwell on those things and there was no grieving.
“I’m just proud of what he did,” Mott goes on. “He put together a string of great, important races and is by far the best three-year-old I’ve ever had. It seems like he should be better as a four-year-old too, as he kept improving his entire three-year-old career and was better at the end than he was at the beginning.”
Godolphin recently ended speculation by announcing that Sovereignty will remain in training as a four-year-old.
“He’s had this time off, so you can’t really make plans for where he’ll start,” says Mott. “But if he comes back and does well the goal would be the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”
Mott’s career masterpiece was the iconic mid-1990s warrior Cigar, who won 16 races in a row – a run that included Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup triumphs and earned him a place among modern-day US racing greats.
And despite sending out winners for nearly 60 years, the 72-year-old adds: “As long as I’ve a horse in the barn who can run, I’m going to keep going.”
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
That’s tough. There are so many I respect who have represented racing brilliantly and been good mentors to people, including me. Mack Miller was great when I first went to New York and then there was Jack van Berg, whom I worked for. But I almost hate to mention people because I can’t mention them all and will leave people out.
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
I love Saratoga and Churchill Downs, but you’ve got to throw in Santa Anita too as it’s a wonderful track, especially for the Breeders’ Cup.
We were able to win the Kentucky Derby this year, which was on the bucket list and very special as I’ve raced at Churchill for so long; it was a tremendous thrill.
We won it with Country House in 2019, but were probably the second-best horse that day and got promoted to first [after Maximum Security was disqualified for interference]. We were in the right place at the right time that day but when Sovereignty won, it felt like we’d done it properly.
Who is your favorite racehorse and why?
Cigar has to be up there. The true test of a champion is the test of time. We’ve seen horses run that ‘wow’ race, but it’s the horses who keep doing it over and over. Cigar did that with his 16 wins and was Horse of the Year twice, although I must mention Theatrical, who probably did the most for my career. He was my first Breeders’ Cup winner, first champion and helped set me on my way, but I’ve been blessed to train lots of great horses and find it difficult not to mention more here.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
Gosh … I’ve lots, from the horses and moments I’ve said already to the storyline we had with Cody’s Wish and Cody Dorman, but I think back to some of my early winners that weren’t even stakes races.
They were horses I groomed and galloped myself who won, which was special, although I’ll never forget my first winner, which was a $500 purse.
It was with a horse called My Assets at a bush track in South Dakota. We dead-heated and it was the race that convinced me training was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. They gave a blanket to the winners, so we flipped a coin and I won, and I still have that blanket today.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
We need to look at the programme for state-bred horses given how foal crops have shrunk. They need to combine those groups of horses and get them running against each other because I don’t think we have enough horses to have so many divisions – we’re running out of horses.
They can have bonuses for being regional-bred, but they need to run together because there are too many short fields. The tracks don’t want them and the gamblers like reasonably good fields.
Small fields are great for trainers looking to win races, but you’ve got to see the bigger picture.
Bill Mott was speaking to James Burn
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