Godolphin trainer Bill Mott appeared on the TDN Writers’ Room podcast, presented by Keeneland, as the Gainesway Guest of the Week following his historic Kentucky Derby victory with Sovereignty (Into Mischief).
The win marked Mott’s second Derby triumph, coming after Country House’s controversial promotion in 2019 following Maximum Security’s disqualification.
“It’s pretty special, I’ve got to tell you,” Mott said. “We really enjoyed Country House’s eventual victory in that race, but I always wanted to come back and be able to do it this way. But maybe the fact that we were put up in the other race, it maybe took a little something away from it, I suppose, as far as the full pleasure of getting it done.”
The victory came during a remarkable weekend where Godolphin swept worldwide classics, establishing a dominant presence in the racing landscape.
Mott revealed he’s been inundated with congratulations since the win.
“It hasn’t stopped yet,” he said. “I’m still hearing from people and I guess you realize how many people watch the race on television and the number of people that were at the track. It’s a big deal. I’m really proud and I’m glad to be part of the team that made this happen. I’m just a small part of it because there’s so much that goes into it from the, as I’ve said before, the matings and raising the horse and then eventually getting them to us.”
The veteran trainer described Sovereignty’s perfect preparation leading up to the Derby.
“Everything went perfectly. He didn’t have any setbacks, no sickness, no lameness, no filling, no missed training days for one reason or another. And he went into it great. And we knew we were doing it with a very good horse and a horse that was probably capable of pulling it off.”
Mott confirmed Sovereignty will bypass the Preakness Stakes to focus directly on the Belmont Stakes — a strategic decision prioritizing the colt’s long-term campaign.
“Three races in a five-week period, and they’re hard races,” Mott explained. “There was nothing easy about the race the other day. I think you probably take a little something out of them. If we were only concerned about the Triple Crown, he’d probably be the perfect horse to do it with, because he’s a big, tough horse and he came back good.”
The trainer outlined ambitious future plans for the Derby winner.
“We decided to focus on the Belmont and perhaps the Travers if the Belmont goes well. And then we’ve got races later on. You’ve got the Breeders’ Cup Classic, that’s going to be a tough division this year. But also, I think if we race the horse next year, you know, the Dubai World Cup would probably be on a schedule if he’s doing well.”
When asked if a longer gap between Triple Crown races might have changed his Preakness decision, Mott acknowledged the possibility.
“We’d certainly be more apt to do it that way,” he said. “I’m not advocating for changing it because I think that’s above my pay grade. I think the Triple Crown is a tremendous challenge, the way it’s set up, but I think we’re probably 40 years beyond what it used to be.”
The podcast episode also featured Bill Finley, Randy Moss, and Zoe Cadman reviewing Derby weekend results and announcing Finley as winner of the inaugural Derby Fantasy Draft.
The team discussed a letter to the editor from David Ingordo regarding potential changes to the Hall of Fame admission process and highlighted Skelly (Practical Joke) winning the Fastest-Horse-of-the-Week segment for the second time in a month at Oaklawn Park. They also analyzed WinStar stallion Constitution, whose progeny Mindframe captured the GI Churchill Downs Stakes.
The TDN Writers Room is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, and 1/ST Racing and 1/ST TV.
