The short answer is no ... but he could be.

Of course, that partly depends upon your definition of best. In terms of sheer brilliance, it would be difficult for Sovereignty to surpass Arrogate. He’s not that type of racehorse, but his 3-year-old season has a very good chance to be better overall if he can defeat older males at least once. Some, myself included, might consider his season to be better right now.

American Pharoah winning 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic (Eclipse Sportswire)

Speaking of older males, many consider defeating older horses in the fall the prime criteria to define an elite 3-year-old male. American Pharoah checked that box in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic. So, too, did several subsequent champion 3-year-old males.

If best is defined by accomplishment, Justify swept the Triple Crown. Sovereignty might have, too, but his connections opted to skip the Preakness Stakes. So, his name will never be etched in the history books alongside the 13 legends to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes.

Of course, Justify never raced after the Belmont Stakes, so Sovereignty has the entire second half of the year to add to his 3-year-old credentials. He already got the jump on that with a win in the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes presented by Mohegan Sun July 26 at Saratoga Race Course.

Sovereignty’s résumé as it stands:

• Grade 1 wins in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets
• Grade 2 wins in the Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and Jim Dandy
• Runner-up finish in the Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa

Here is the list of 3-year-old champions since American Pharoah: Arrogate (2016), West Coast (2017), Justify (2018), Maximum Security (2019), Authentic (2020), Essential Quality (2021), Epicenter (2022), Arcangelo (2023), and Sierra Leone (2024).

Arrogate’s two stakes wins in 2016 came in a Travers runaway and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. That’s fairly close in terms of difficulty compared with Sovereignty’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes victories, although I’d argue two Triple Crown race wins hold more prestige. Still, most racing analysts want to see a 3-year-old defeat older horses before they utter the word great, so let’s call it a toss-up with two Grade 1s each and one of Arrogate’s coming against older males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

West Coast’s two Grade 1 wins in 2017 came in the Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby. I would argue the Derby and Belmont Stakes trump that by a significant margin. Edge Sovereignty.

Justify winning 2018 Belmont Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Justify swept the Triple Crown following a win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby that he was disqualified from in 2024 due to a medication violation. Sovereignty could still win the DraftKings Travers Stakes Aug. 23 at Saratoga and the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Would that push him past Justify? For the analytics type that values a win over older horses, the answer would very likely be a yes. It would be a tough debate for me. I think Justify is criminally underrated (and I wasn’t even a fan when he was active). The Triple Crown is such a monumental achievement. It would be very close.

Although he finished first in the Kentucky Derby, Maximum Security’s disqualification in the run for the roses hurts his case in comparison with Sovereignty. He did defeat older males in the Cigar Mile among three Grade 1 wins, but does Florida Derby, Haskell Invitational, and Cigar Mile carry the clout of Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes? Not for me, and certainly not if Sovereignty adds one win in either the Travers or Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Authentic is interesting. What a peculiar year the COVID-19 fractured 2020 season was … just a complete scramble. Authentic won the Haskell Stakes, Kentucky Derby, and Breeders’ Cup Classic in that order and also ran second in both the Santa Anita Derby and an October edition of the Preakness. With five graded stakes wins and two seconds in Grade 1s, it is tough to argue Sovereignty over Authentic at this point, but Sovereignty could get there if he keeps winning.

Essential Quality won a pair of Grade 1s in 2021 (Belmont and Travers Stakes) and finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic; Epicenter had a strong campaign in 2022 but his lone Grade 1 win came in the Travers; Arcangelo was another Belmont-Travers winner with two Grade 1 wins. None of the three defeated older males. The edge goes to Sovereignty over all three.

Sierra Leone winning 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic (Eclipse Sportswire)

Sierra Leone won the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Classic for his two Grade 1 wins and he placed in two-thirds of the Triple Crown. I prefer Sovereignty’s résumé slightly because he’s a much more consistent winner. He is less pace-dependent despite having a similar running style, but I understand why others would prefer the Classic win against older horses. It’s close.

Pre-Travers, if I was ranking the best 3-year-olds since American Pharoah, I would rate them: Justify, Authentic, and then Sovereignty with a razor-thin edge over Arrogate and Sierra Leone because of how highly I value a Kentucky Derby win.

That said, a compelling case could be made for both Arrogate and Sierra Leone over Sovereignty right now. In my estimation, a Travers win for Sovereignty would lift him clearly ahead of both Arrogate and Sierra Leone and at least into the conversation with Justify and Authentic. Wins by Sovereignty in the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic would boost him past both, in my opinion, and at that point you could start having the Sovereignty vs. American Pharoah discussion. But … that is a LONG way away and the older male division this year is deep and very talented. Sovereignty has his work cut out for him. Stay tuned!