Sovereignty winning a gritty Kentucky Derby. (Jenny Doyle/Past The Wire)
What is it like to sit on the back of Sovereignty?
Breeders’ Cup Closer Look
The former jockey, now assistant trainer and master work rider of the stars of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, pondered the question. Shook his head. Gave it some more thought.
This was a tough one. Neil Poznansky was going to take his time with this one.
The inquiry was simple enough; coming up with an answer wasn’t. What is it like to sit on the back of Sovereignty?
Very few have experienced the powerful feeling of piloting one of, if not the best, 3-year-old in the country. Of course, jockey Junior Alvarado knows it, so does Jimmy Quispe, who is the son of Into Mischief’s exercise rider.
Poznansky, who has been working for Mott since 2008, partners with Sovereignty whenever the colt puts in a timed workout.
“It’s a loaded question,” Poznansky said. “He has nerves of steel and is a massive physical specimen. You look at him and he is like the total package, you know? When I breeze him, he is very push button. He will do whatever you need him to do.”
Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, the 53-year-old Poznansky knows a thing or two about riding horses. He is one of five jockeys to be honored as the top apprentice rider in the United States and Canada. He won both the Eclipse and Sovereign Awards in 1996. The most recent rider to do it was Kazushi Kimura (2019), who is a regular on the California circuit.
According to Equibase, Poznansky rode 761 winners from 5,861 in a career that went from 1994 to 2008. After hanging up his boots and goggles, he went to work for Mott as an exercise rider and he never left. Nor does he want to.
“I just basically hung out and wanted to learn,” Poznansky said.
Poznansky is Mott’s right-hand man at Saratoga and accompanies him to Florida in the winter. He is one of Mott’s three long time assistants, joining Leanna Willaford, who oversees the operation at Belmont Park and Kenny McCarthy, who does the same in Kentucky.
Poznansky earned Mott’s respect and has been entrusted to work the top thoroughbreds in the star-studded barn. Over the years, Poznansky has hooked up with the likes of Elite Power, Cody’s Wish, Elate, Flat Out and Art Collector … the list goes on and on.
“Neil has worked an awful lot of good ones,” Mott said. “Absolutely, it is very important to have a rider that you know knows the horse and knows what I want. He is very conscious of trying to do what is best for the horse, but also what I think is best for the horse. He is very good at judging how a horse is doing and how much more he needs to do.”
Even though he has been doing this job for years, Poznansky admits getting some sweaty palms on work mornings. Especially with a horse like Sovereignty, who has taken the Mott barn on a special ride this year.
The colt has won five of six starts this year, including his last four. Three of those wins have been Grade 1s – the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes. The final goal of what could be a championship season is the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday.
“Oh yeah, I get nervous,” Poznansky said when it comes to working Sovereignty. “I am my worst critic, and I hate to screw up. He can be a deceiving horse. Sometimes, if you work him by himself, he feels the same going in 1:02 that he does going in :59. I’ve come to know that when he is by himself, he is not going to do too much. Really, he has never had a bad day.”
