11.37 Whitney Stakes (Grade 1)

A stellar field of seven millionaires and six Grade 1 winners line up in the Saratoga feature.

If anyone had said this time last season that Sovereignty would return for the 2026 Whitney and be the 3/1 second favourite on the morning line, you would have been given a few curious glances.

However, after two disappointing four-year-old runs, this is where we are. While Sovereignty stalled, Magnitude has progressed, in similar style to Steve Asmussen’s former Horse of the Year, Gun Runner. Asmussen’s four-year-old son of Not This Time missed the classics and was only third, 20 lengths behind Sovereignty in the Travers here last year.

Winning the Grade 2 Clark at Churchill last winter set him on a four-race winning streak, including the Dubai World Cup and the Grade 1 Stephen Foster where he made all on a wet track to beat Baeza and Sovereignty, both back in the field today.

Also in the tip-top contest are the 2025 Pegasus World Cup winner and second this year, White Abarrio, who beat Sovereignty and Journalism in the Oaklawn Handicap, and the top-class filly Nitrogen.

White Abarrio is inconsistent but can pull a big win out even if his best form seems to be earlier in the season.

Top three-year-old filly of 2025, Nitrogen has never been out of the first three in 16 career starts. Racing nine times in 2025, she won the Alabama Stakes but was second in three other Grade 1s.

After an explosive over 12-length victory in the Ogden Phipps, trainer Mark Casse has opted for this big test and said: “This is as good of a Whitney as you’ll ever see,” but he noted how the barn’s Tepin regularly took on and beat the males.

“If we were going to try colts, this is the place. She loves it here,” he added.

There’s no doubt Sovereignty has been very disappointing, his Oaklawn return run excusable but his Stephen Foster was a poor performance, he never looked to be travelling well. Was it the sloppy track? He handled an off track in the Derby last year.

Bill Mott said this week: “We were on a sealed, muddy track. That’s the only thing I can think of. I have no other excuses. I thought he went into the race fine. I have no reservations about the way he’s training.”

Mott now also trains Baeza’s who’s biggest win came in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and you still feel he is just a bit short against the best around. Plus, in the Stephen Foster, he gave the field a few lengths at the break and then closed to within a length and a quarter of Magnitude at the wire.

Sovereignty deserves one more chance to show last season’s dominant form where he ran away with the Travers over the Saratoga track.

SELECTION: SOVEREIGNTY Next best: Baeza

Rest of the card

The seven-furlong Grade 1 Test Stakes Presented by Ticketmaster (9.36pm) has eight three-year-old fillies with Bob Baffert’s Explora heading the market from Movie Night (Will Walden) and On Time Girl (Brad Cox), with the Ortiz brothers on opposition.

Movie Night is the improver with just three runs to her name but a wide margin allowance win last time.

Explora has three wins from five runs this year and a fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. She had On Time Girl back on second in her seven-furlong listed win last time.

The Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes (10.44pm) over the turf mile brings together some of the best turf milers,

There’s not a lot between the unbeaten favourite Deterministic, Rhetorical, Zulu Kingdom and Lagynos on the early morning line. Plus many of them like to run on the pace.

Last year’s winner Deterministic’s win in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes last time, with Rhetorical in fourth is the best piece of form but that over a furlong and a half longer.

The Irish-bred son of Ten Sovereigns, Zulu Kingdom, made all to run out a good winner of the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland in April with Rhetorical in third.

Steven Asmussen’s five-year-old Lagynos is another on a winning streak of five wins though yet to win a Grade 1 and was beaten in this last year. He could be the one to strike last.

The Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Stakes Presented by Qatar Racing (10.52) has two British challengers led by the Belmont Derby winner Title Roll. He only just held on then by a nose from West End Kid and the second and third, Remember Mamba, reoppose and this race is half a furlong longer.

Hugo Palmer runs Glacius (Luis Saez), third in a listed race at Sandown since the same placing at Royal Ascot in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes.

West End Kid was on a three-race winning streak into the Belmont Derby and recover the winning thread.