The hot favourite for the Breeders’ Cup Classic developed a fever after exercising on the track at Del Mar on Monday and will be monitored over the next days
Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty could miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic after developing a fever. The Godolphin-owned colt is the biggest star running at the annual horseracing championships at Del Mar in California.
He exercised on the track satisfactorily on Monday but on Tuesday his trainer Bill Mott warned that the superstar’s appearance was in doubt after he spiked a temperature. Sovereignty has won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes during a four race-winning unbeaten streak and was the 6-4 favourite for the Classic.
Mott, breaking the news on the track, said: “Sovereignty has a fever. He’s been doing very well otherwise and if we didn’t have a thermometer we wouldn’t have known anything.
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“He had a slightly elevated temperature and that remained through the night. This morning at 5am and when we got here at 5.30am he still had a slight fever.
“He had had no medication at all so we have drawn blood and so we’ve taken blood samples. Part of the blood samples have come back and part are pending.
“Since 6am we gave him some medication to help alleviate the fever. His temperature is down to normal right now. He’s eating everything. You saw him in his stall with his head out.
“He’s eaten all his grain. He’s not missed an oat, he’s not missed any feed all year long and last night and this morning was no exception.
“He seems to be sharp. You saw him looking out over the webbing. He looks fine but as of right now there is a possibility that he won’t make the race on Saturday. If we don’t feel he’s 100 per cent he is not going to run.
“I’d like to give myself ten percent wiggle room to monitor him for the next four or five days but until tomorrow I think it’s very important what happens through the day and overnight.
“If his temperature remains normal throughout the day and the night and we look at him tomorrow and he’s still eating and he looks good and the blood work comes back with the positive look to it, we are going to reevaluate. We are going reevaluate every day and probably several times during the day. Right now I wanted everybody to know.”
Mott is one of the top trainers in the US who has trained 15 Breeders’ Cup winners.
He added: “This is the one thing that you can’t control. I don’t know whether it’s a little viral day. We can prevent a lot but there’s no way to prevent this. He’s come out of a barn that had no problems and gone into a barn that hasn’t any horses in it. I don’t have any explanation for it.”