Sovereignty tops Jim Dandy five

Journalism proved no worse for wear after a strenuous Triple Crown campaign when overcoming some adversity to take the Haskell (G1) last weekend. On Saturday, it will be dual classic winner and division leader Sovereignty's turn to prove the same in the $500,000 Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga.

The 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, the traditional local stepping stone to the 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1) in late August, attracted a field short on quantity but very long on quality. In addition to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont (G1) winner, the Jim Dandy also features the dual classic-placed Baeza, Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman, Peter Pan (G3) victor Hill Road, and Ohio Derby (G3) conqueror Mo Plex.

All eyes, though, will be on Sovereignty, who evolved into a division standout during the spring classics. He has the numbers to prove it, too, earning respective Brisnet speed ratings of 103 and 111 for his successes at Churchill Downs and Saratoga, which hosted a shortened 1 1/4-mile Belmont on June 7 for the second of a scheduled three times while its downstate undergoes renovation.

"He's doing good," trainer Bill Mott said of Sovereignty. "We haven't had any major issues at all."

Baeza is largely viewed as the third-best colt in the crop, behind Sovereignty and Journalism. Baeza occupied that slot in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, which followed a second-place effort to Journalism in the Santa Anita Derby (G1).

"I didn't think he ran his best race in the Belmont," trainer John Shirreffs said of Baeza's effort, in which he finished 6 1/2 lengths behind Sovereignty. "Talking to [Flavien] Prat after the race, he said it took him a long time to engage down the backside. You can see that he had to ride pretty hard from maybe the half-mile pole all the way to the wire. I think he can run better than that."

Sandman, a nondescript seventh of 19 in the Kentucky Derby, enjoyed a more favorable run two weeks later when finishing third in the Preakness. But he might simply be a notch below the top pair, though he races with blinkers for the first time in the Jim Dandy.

Hill Road managed to finish only fifth in the Belmont over a distance he was expected to thrive over, which suggests he, too, might simply be a cut or two below the division's cream.

The New York-bred Mo Plex, who had never won beyond seven furlongs before taking the nine-furlong Ohio Derby on June 21, likely takes this field as far as his class will allow. The son of Complexity has never finished out of the money in eight starts and is 2-for-2 at Saratoga.

The supporting feature is the $175,000 Lake George (G3), a 1 1/16-mile grass test for three-year-old fillies which has attracted the top three finishers from the July 3 Wild Applause S.: Classic Q and the Chad Brown-trained pair of Play With Fire and Lavender Disaster.