Are there any worlds left for Bill Mott to conquer? The Hall of Fame trainer added a win in the bucket list race he yearned for when Sovereignty roared off to a whopping 10-length victory in the $1.25 million Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga Race Course.

In becoming the first horse to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, and Travers Stakes since Thunder Gulch in 1995, Sovereignty will head to the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in command of the 3-year-old division as a major player for Horse of the Year honors.

Sovereignty wins the Travers. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

Mott, 71, had been 0-for-13 in the Travers in his career. His horses had been second best on three occasions, most recently when Tacitus settled for place in 2019. As the 156th edition of the famed “Mid-Summer Derby” unfolded, it became clearer with Sovereignty’s every powerful stride that Mott would not be denied any longer. The bay colt became a blue blur as he rocketed past runner-up Bracket Buster turning for home and opened up daylight on his four foes as track announcer Frank Mirahmadi exclaimed, “We are witnessing greatness. Sovereignty is pouring it on!”

Mirahmadi then followed with a salute to one of the great trainers of all time. “Congratulations to Bill Mott. There’s your Travers!”

In truth, there was every reason beforehand to think that Mott’s day had finally come. Mott has described Sovereignty as the best 3-year-old he’s ever trained.

Sovereignty was sent off as an overwhelming favorite by the on-track crowd of 48,255 and paid $2.60 to win. None of his opponents had a Grade 1 win.

Still, Saratoga is known as the “Graveyard of Champions” and, when Sovereignty’s tour de force was over, Mott appeared to be as relieved as he was jubilant.

Bill Mott stands behind Junior Alvarado with the Travers trophy. (Eclipse Sportswire)

“We race primarily in New York now. Two Kentucky Derbies are great, but I must say for me I think the Travers is a great race to win,” Mott said. “It’s very satisfying and gratifying to get that done.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado eased his mount under the wire, completing the 1 1/4 miles in 2.00.84.

In recent years, Mott had been locked in on winning the Metropolitan Handicap (a.k.a. "the Met Mile") and the Travers. Godolphin delivered for him with homebreds in both races. Cody’s Wish staged one of his breathtaking rallies in the 2023 Met Mile and now Sovereignty and Alvarado carried Godolphin’s royal blue silks to another triumph that meant everything to him and his family.

“I had two or three races on my bucket list. One of them was the Met Mile. We got that done with Cody’s Wish. The one that was left was the Travers,” Mott said.

No one was happier than Mott’s son, Riley, who assisted him before striking out on his own as a trainer three years ago.

“We’re from Saratoga. We call this home,” Riley noted. “This has been on top of the list for my entire life, so it’s very gratifying, particularly to do it with Junior and Godolphin.”

This Travers was as straightforward as Grade 1 races come.

Junior Alvarado on Sovereignty. (Adam Coglianese/NYRA)

“There were no instructions,” Mott said. “We were trying to guess who would be the early speed in the race. That’s all we talked about.”

Magnitude jumped to the early advantage with Bracket Buster in hot pursuit. Alvarado sat comfortably in fourth through an opening half mile that went in 47.43 seconds, then moved up a spot into third.

“He was traveling beautifully. I was trying to look at the horses in front of me. I was trying to look at how they were traveling,” Alvarado said. “I thought my horse was actually galloping compared to the horses in front of me.”

It was only a matter of time before Alvarado owned his first Travers victory as well. “He was there for me turning for home and just powered down the stretch,” Alvarado said.

Michael Banahan, director of bloodstock for Godolphin USA, eagerly awaits the challenge of facing older horses for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Classic. He is confident Sovereignty will step up once more with Horse of the Year honors on the line.

“You saw him in the paddock. He’s a big, strong horse. He’s very mature,” Banahan noted. “We know the older crop is a very good group of horses. We are under no illusions. That will be a test as well, but you saw what he did today. You saw what he did all year, so we’re excited to get in there.”

Rest assured, Mott will have Sovereignty as ready as he can be.