Sovereignty and Junior Alvarado, shown above after winning the DraftKings Travers Stakes (G1), are expected to team up next in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic for owner Godolphin and trainer Bill Mott. (Angelo Lieto)
Expected Next Start in Breeders’ Cup Classic
NTRA Top Thoroughbred Polls/Edited
With his outstanding performances in the Kentucky Derby, Belmont Stakes, Jim Dandy and Travers Stakes Godolphin’s homebred Sovereignty sits atop the 3-year-old class. The Into Mischief colt’s next start will likely be the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar Nov. 1.
Joining the Bill Mott trainee will be Pacific Classic winner Fierceness (#2) and Mindframe (#3). The latter has three Graded stakes victories with two second places but did not complete the jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) as he lost his rider Irad Ortiz, Jr.
Also in the top five are the ever-surprising Sierra Leone (#4), first in the Whitney (G1) and second in the Gold Cup, and resolute Thorpedo Anna (#5) who won her last two starts which were graded stakes.
Week 33 of the 2025 NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll conducted by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), covering racing performances through September 7. Voting is conducted by national media.
The Top Thoroughbred poll represents horses competing for Horse of the Year. The Top Thoroughbred Poll concludes on Tuesday, November 4 following the Breeders’ Cup World Championships.
Rankings on poll are on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-1 basis with first place votes in parentheses, 2025 record and total points. A-S: Age-Sex, Sex: C-colt, G-gelding, H-horse, F-filly, M-mare, R-ridgling.
TOP THOROUGHBRED POLL
| PLACE | HORSE | A-S | STATS | POINTS | PVS |
| 1 | SOVEREIGNTY (26) | 3-C | 6-5-1-0 | 284 | 1 |
| 2 | FIERCENESS | 4-C | 4-2-1-0 | 243 | 2 |
| 3 | MINDFRAME (2) | 4-C | 4-3-0-0 | 200 | 3 |
| 4 | SIERRA LEONE | 4-C | 4-1-2-1 | 197 | 4 |
| 5 | THORPEDO ANNA (1) | 4-F | 5-4-0-0 | 166 | 5 |
| 6 | JOURNALISM | 3-C | 7-4-3-0 | 148 | 6 |
| 7 | BOOK’EM DANNO | 4-G | 5-4-0-0 | 113 | 7 |
| 8 | NYSOS | 4-C | 3-2-1-0 | 61 | 8 |
| 9 | DETERMINISTIC | 4-C | 4-3-1-0 | 45 | 9 |
| 10 | ANTIQUARIAN | 4-C | 4-2-2-0 | 34 | 10 |
Other horses receiving votes: She Feels Pretty (24), Nitrogen (23), Patch Adams (10), Formidable Man (7), Raging Torrent (7), Ag Bullet (5), Seismic Beauty (5), White Abarrio (5), Highland Falls (4), Forever Young (4), El Cordobes (3), Dorth Vader (2), Laurelin (2), Hit Show (2), Ted Noffey (1)
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