Kentucky Derby: Sovereignty beats favourite Journalism to win 151st race

Sovereignty beat favourite Journalism to win the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

The colt, ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Bill Mott, finished the one and a quarter miles flat race in two minutes and 02.31 seconds to beat Journalism by one and a half lengths.

Citizen Bull set the early pace on the muddy track, before Sovereignty and Journalism emerged at the front heading into the final stretch.

But 7-1 third choice Sovereignty pulled away to take victory in front of 147,046 spectators.

“Fortunately, there was a lot of speed in the race,” Mott said.

“It set up well for us because they had an honest pace. When you have a good pace, the field strings out a little bit more, and it offers you an opportunity to drop in once they line up a little bit.

“It gives the outside horses a chance, and that’s what happened.”

The win is the first for Alvarado and owner Godolphin LLC in the classic race, while it is the second for Mott, who won in 2019 with Country House after Maximum Security was bumped down for interference.

American gymnast Simone Biles, winner of seven Olympic gold medals, performed the traditional pre-race ‘riders up’ call signalling for the riders to mount their horses.

The role, given to celebrities and athletes, has been performed by TV personality Martha Stewart, NFL star Patrick Mahomes and singer Jack Harlow in recent years.

Journalism, ridden by Umberto Rispoli, went off as the 3-1 favourite after winning on his last four starts – although none of those victories were achieved on the mud.

“I know most people are disappointed,” Rispoli said.

“On a fair track, I think I have the better horse.”

Severe weather had delayed races on Friday and, while there were no such issues on Saturday, further rain led to muddy conditions for the derby.