A Champion's Brisk Morning on the Saratoga Strip

Sovereignty, the reigning Horse of the Year, was back at work in Saratoga Springs, New York, and put in a strong gallop on a brisk morning over the Spa's main track. The son of Into Mischief is pointing toward the Breeders' Cup Classic, and this gallop is one more step in that preparation. In autumn, Saratoga's grandstand stands quiet and the summer meet is over. A morning gallop there is mostly watched by the people who work the shedrows, with the champion moving through cool air on a track that hosts some of the country's best racing every summer. A strong gallop is not a race and isn't meant to be one. It is a horseman's measure, read in the way a horse carries himself and how freely he covers the ground. That is why the gallop deserves notice. When the reigning Horse of the Year prepares for the Classic at one of America's great racetracks, his ordinary training mornings matter to everyone who follows the sport.

With reporting from Thoroughbred Daily News.