After a pair of losses to begin his 4-year-old campaign, reigning Horse of the Year SOVEREIGNITY ran back to form as he closed from the back of the pack to crush his competition in the million-dollar, Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.

What the capacity crowd witnessed on Saturday was vintage SOVEREIGNITY. Last year’s Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers winner took his dynamic closing kick out of storage and powered to a 4 3/4-length victory over the star filly NITROGEN.

SOVEREIGNITY covered the1 1/8 miles on a fast track in a sizzling 1:47.91 under jockey Junior Alavardo.

With the Whitney being part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Win and You’re In series, SOVEREIGNITY earned a paid, automatic berth into the Breeders’ Cup Classic on October 31st at Keeneland.

But prior to the BC his Whitney victory could set up a meeting with last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner- FOREVER YOUNG who is scheduled to run in the September 18th Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes on the day the new Belmont Park opens.

SOVEREIGNITY is also headed in that direction. “The Jockey Club Gold Cup has always been on our schedule,” said trainer Bill Mott. “We can’t chicken out, can we?”

We hope not Bill. It will be an awesome race for opening day of the Fall Meet at the new Belmont Park.