Mott forced to rule out Classic bid for favourite Sovereignty

The all-star Breeders’ Cup Classic line-up suffered a blow on Wednesday when favourite Sovereignty was scratched from the race by Bill Mott.

The Hall of Fame trainer had revealed on Tuesday that the participation of his superstar colt in the $7million feature was in doubt after the Godolphin runner spiked a temperature.

Speaking on FanDuel TV’s Breakfast at the Breeders’ Cup, Mott said: “I had said if he re-spikes another temperature he would be out of the Breeders’ Cup and yesterday afternoon about 3pm he re-spiked, even though he’d had some medication in him from 6am that morning.

“We re-treated him and of course now he’s on antibiotics. He seems to be doing well this morning and his temperature is down to one tick above normal and he looks bright and pretty good, but he’s definitely out of the Classic and will be scratched.

“He still hasn’t missed an oat and he’s in his hay bag eating all the hay and he’s got his nose in there and seems to have a good attitude, I don’t even know if he knows he’s sick.”

Sovereignty will be unable to add to a stellar season that has seen him become Godolphin’s first Kentucky Derby hero, before adding another piece of the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, as well as the Travers Stakes in breathtaking fashion.

Although a huge dent in the Classic field, there is still a fascinating contest for Saturday’s main event with the top three from last year’s race all returning to test their mettle against the likes of Preakness winner Journalism and fellow three-year-old Baeza.

Mott said: “There’s nothing I would have changed and nothing I could have done about it. Something like this is just really bad luck and you have viruses and bacteria floating around the air and for whatever reason his immune system wasn’t able to battle it off and it is just really bad timing for us.

“We would have loved to run and showcase our horse. I know there were a lot of people who were looking forward to seeing him run as well as our entire team.

“We were very anxious and excited to run in what has shaped up to be probably one of the best Breeders’ Cup Classics in some time. We won’t have that opportunity this year.”

A decision on Sovereignty’s future is yet to be made, with Mott set to have discussions with Godolphin’s team in the States, as well as with Sheikh Mohammed, once the dust has settled.

He added: “It has always been the plan for him to go back to Kentucky and we have always wanted to send him back there before a decision is made on whether or not he is going to race next year.

“He’s scheduled to go back to Kentucky on Monday and Tuesday.

“Over here there is Dan Pride and Michael Banahan (of Godolphin) and in Dubai of course you have Sheikh Mohammed himself and I’m sure they will be putting their heads together to decide what they are going to do – the final word will be from Sheikh Mohammed.”