SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A little after 7:00 Sunday morning, Bill Mott walked down the shedrow of his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track and peered into the stall of his comeback kid, Sovereignty (Into Mischief).“He's sleeping,” Mott said with a laugh to a couple of writers.Sovereignty certainly deserved the shut eye after his rousing performance Saturday in the $1-million GI Whitney Stakes. The 4 3/4-length win, against an all-star field, put to rest the notion that the 2025 Horse of the Year was all done after starting the year with two straight losses.The talk now is of how good the 4-year-old Godolphin homebred is and what may await as he heads into his final two races of 2026: the $1-million GI Jockey Club Gold Cup on opening day at the new Belmont Park on Sept. 18 and the $7-million GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.“We're back,” Mott said with a laugh Sunday morning, “the both of us!”Well, the Hall of Fame trainer has never left, and Sovereignty erased all doubts of his ability eroding by toying with a Whitney field that included Magnitude (Not This Time), who defeated Sovereignty in the GI Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs by 5 1/4 lengths at the end of June and White Abarrio (Race Day), who finished two lengths in front of him in the GII Oaklawn Handicap in April.And, for good measure, throw in Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro), last year's champion 3-year-old filly, stablemate Baeza (McKinzie), who finished in front of Sovereignty in the Foster and Antiquarian (Preservationist), last year's winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup.When Sovereignty skipped home the easiest of winners in the Whitney, Mott felt the invisible layer of pressure lift off his shoulders.“Of course,” he said. “I am sure I am no different than anybody else. If the Yankees lost five in a row, I am sure it feels pretty good to come back and win one. We want to win and when you lose, you are frustrated, and you want to get back on the winning path.”Mott said it would be “pretty hard to deny” Sovereignty being the top older horse in the country right now. He will get his chance to defend that moniker in the 1 1/4-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup when he could run into Japan's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}).Forever Young has won 11 of 15 career starts, including the Breeders' Cup Classic last year, a race Sovereignty missed because of a virus.“We're not going to duck anybody,” Mott said. “We are not going to go someplace else because Forever Young is there. He is one of the best horses in the world and rightfully so. He has earned it.”When it was suggested to Mott that Sovereignty was in that same category, he didn't hesitate.“Absolutely,” he said.Stablemate Baeza, owned by C R K Stable and Grandview Equine, was fourth in the Whitney, a length behind Antiquarian. In the three starts he has made for Mott, he has been slow out of the gate in each one.“He did not run his race,” Mott said. “I have not talked to the connections; I don't have a plan. If he hadn't given the three lengths at the start, he might have been third. I thought we might have been able to run one-two. It didn't work out.”Casse Only Has Praise for Nitrogen's Whitney EffortOn Sunday morning, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse couldn't say enough good things about Nitrogen, the 4-year-old filly who gave the boys all they wanted in the Whitney Stakes.In the end, last year's 3-year-old filly champ finished second behind runaway winner Sovereignty, but there was no one hanging their heads at Casse's barn on the backstretch.Nitrogen on Sunday morning | Sarah Andrew“I am proud of her, she did amazing,” Casse said. “I have had more congratulations today for running second than I have ever had.”Certainly, no disgrace for the filly, who is owned by D J Stable LLC. Her record stands at eight wins, six seconds and three thirds in 17 career starts; eight of her starts (and four of her wins came) on turf.Casse will stick with his original plan and point his star filly to the $650,000 GI Spinster Stakes at Keeneland on Oct. 4 and then the Breeders' Cup at the end of October. Last year, she finished second in the GI Distaff.Despite grabbing her right front ankle at the start of the 1 1/8-mile Whitney, Nitrogen gunned to the lead and kept it until the final furlong where she was overtaken by Sovereignty. She was attempting to be the first filly or mare to win the Whitney since Personal Ensign in 1988.“I am impressed,” Sovereignty's trainer Mott said of Nitrogen, “damn impressed. She battled hard.”After Nitrogen ran the first quarter in :23.43, the half quickened to :46.27 and then six furlongs in 1:09.65.“A little faster than she has ever run,” Casse said. “Look, Sovereignty was much the best. We aren't taking anything away from him.”Nitrogen, who was ridden by Hall of Famer Johnny Velazquez, has two wins, two seconds and a third in five starts this year.Miguel Clement says Father Would be 'Very Proud'As he stood outside his barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Sunday morning, trainer Miguel Clement beamed when he talked about how his father, the late Christophe Clement, would have reacted to what had happened over the weekend.Miguel Clement greets Deterministic after the Fourstardave | Sarah AndrewMiguel, who took over the barn after his dad passed away in May, won the GI Fourstardave Stakes with 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Deterministic (Liam's Map) on Saturday. That was one of Christophe Clement's favorite horses along with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Far Bridge (English Channel).The day before, the Clement family honored Christophe as he was inducted posthumously into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. Later that afternoon, the Clement barn was in the winner's circle with another 'TDN Rising Star' in Bottas (Vekoma), the victor in the GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes.“Dad being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which is bittersweet; he would have loved to have been a part of it,” Miguel Clement said. “The whole CC tribe is here from all parts of the world which is another testament to his character. He would be very happy and very proud.”Deterministic, owned by St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven C. Duncker and Vicarage Stable, won his sixth straight race and the Fourstardave for the second straight year.Miguel Clement, no surprise, said that the 5-year-old is the leader of the male turf division and he's not wrong. During the winning streak, Deterministic and jockey Kendrick Carmouche have won six graded stakes races, four of them Grade Is.“I am biased, “he said. “Can't ask me, but I think he is the clear-cut leader in the division.”Up next could be a trip to Canada for the GI Woodbine Mile on Sept. 12.After the victory on Saturday, there was a get-together for family to celebrate Deterministic and the Fourstardave. And, of course, after this weekend, a lot of thinking about Christophe Clement.“He definitely would have loved this weekend,” Miguel Clement said. “He would have had a party for the ages. Mine was very tame in comparison to what he would have done. First thing this (Sunday) morning, I was already here. Dad's parties, I don't think many people would have been here first thing in the morning. Would have been a lot of Rosé, trust me.”The post Saratoga Notebook, presented by NYRA Bets: Sovereignty Climbs Back Atop the Mountain appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.