America \ Anne Marie Duff
Sovereignty Horse of the Year
THE dual classic winner Sovereignty took US racing’s most prestigious honour on Thursday when he was named Horse of the Year at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards ceremony at the Breakers Palm Beach in South Florida. He had already been voted Champion Three-Year-Old male earlier in the evening.
The colt becomes the second Horse of the Year for owner/breeder Godolphin in three seasons, following Cody’s Wish in 2023.
It was a great night for all connected to the horse as trainer Bill Mott added another milestone to his career when he was given his fifth Eclipse Award as outstanding trainer. Godolphin also secured its fifth consecutive dual titles as the outstanding owner and breeder.
Godolphin also took the award for Champion Turf Male via the Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Notable Speech. The Charlie Appleby-trained son of Dubawi also won the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile Stakes as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile. His stable companion Rebel’s Romance was runner-up in this category.
The Eclipse Award for Apprentice Jockey went to Pietro Moran, Canadian-based son of Irishman Davy Moran. The rider had won the King’s Plate, the $1 million Canadian classic, on Mansetti last season.
Irish-bred Cool Jet, winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Cup Stakes at Great Meadow, took the Eclipse Award for champion steeplechase horse.
Trained by Jack Fisher and owned by Riverdee Stable, Cool Jet, a 10-year-old by Jet Away, also had two further graded wins in the year. Cool Jet received 119 votes to American National winner Zanahiyr’s 51.
The juvenile awards went to the Breeders’ Cup winners Ted Noffey and Super Corredor, while Thorpedo Anna took another award for Older Turf Female with the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Forever Young the Older Male award winner.
Eclipse Award voters included those from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, consisting of racetrack officials and Equibase field personnel, plus voters from Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.