SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — The sting from last weekend's GI Stephen Foster Stakes is still felt throughout the Hall of Fame barn of trainer Bill Mott. But there is no chance that Mott and his crew are going to throw in the towel when it comes to 2025 Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief).Godolphin's Sovereignty finished third in the five-horse Stephen Foster, beaten 5 1/4 lengths by Magnitude (Not This Time). He was also passed by stablemate Baeza (McKinzie) in the stretch on the sloppy track at Churchill Downs.Mott, standing outside his office at the Oklahoma Training Track on a steamy Friday morning, plans on sending Sovereignty right back against the best of the older horse division in the GI, $1-million Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8.“Yes, we are going to run in the Whitney,” Mott said. “We are going to run them both (Baeza).”The Whitney is expected to pack a wallop as Magnitude, White Abarrio (Race Day), 4-year-old filly Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) and possibly GI Met Mile winner Nysos (Nyquist) are all being mentioned.Sovereignty won all three of his Saratoga starts last year on his way to the Eclipse. He captured the GI Belmont Stakes and then the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and GI Travers Stakes.He missed the GI Breeders' Cup Classic because of a fever and is 0-2 this year.“No,” Mott said when asked if he had lost faith in the big 4-year-old colt. “I am disappointed he didn't run better (in the Stephen Foster). All the connections are a little disappointed, maybe a little baffled. Baeza ran well. Sovereignty ran flat.”Sovereignty won last year's GI Kentucky Derby on a Churchill Downs strip which was labeled sloppy.“Maybe it was what they were running over,” Mott said, saying every wet track is not the same. “He did not look comfortable. He ate a lot of dirt. He has come from behind before, but he did not eat that much dirt in the Derby. It really seemed like it affected him.”As for Baeza, owned by C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine, this was the second start he made under Mott's care since the untimely passing of former trainer John Shirreffs in February. In both starts this year–he was third in the GII Alysheba Stakes in his first race in 2026–Baeza had tardy starts from the gate which could have cost him in both races.“I am going to have to call the horse whisperer,” Mott said.Nitrogen May Not be Only Casse Filly to Take on BoysHall of Fame trainer Mark Casse has already said that his wonder filly Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro) will run against the boys in the GI Whitney Stakes on Aug. 8.Nitrogen, last year's champion 3-year-old filly, certainly spices up what is expected to be one of the most anticipated races of the meet.“Her last performance (a 12 3/4-length win in the GI Ogden Phipps Stakes at Saratoga last month) was so spectacular,” Casse said outside his barn on the Saratoga backstretch. “I said to the Greens (owners Leonard and Jon Green of D. J. Stable LLC), 'right now I think her status is a real talented filly. You go and beat the boys, and then you go into the great category She deserves a shot.”Casse said he has mulled the idea of his 3-year-old filly Counting Stars (Honor A.P.) possibly showing up in the $1.25-million GI Travers Stakes on Aug. 29. Of course, that is still a long way off.Counting Stars, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds, has a date in the $500,000 GI Coaching Club American Oaks versus her fellow 3-year-old fillies on July 25. Depending on how that goes, Travers talk might get serious.“I would not say it's impossible,” Casse said. “That is a discussion for another day and a discussion I would have to have with Terry Finley (President and CEO of West Point). She is already a Grade I winner so I would not totally rule out the Travers.”Counting Stars | Sarah AndrewIn her last start, Counting Stars won the GI Acorn Stakes at Saratoga on June 5, defeating GI Kentucky Oaks champ Always a Runner (Gun Runner) by 3 3/4 lengths. Counting Stars has won five of nine career races and has two wins a second and a third in five tries this year.Casse has another 4-year-old filly–Classic Q (Classic Empire)–who is scheduled to run against colts at this meet. Her next start will likely be the $750,000 GI Fourstardave Stakes on Aug. 8.Classic Q, owned by Gary Barber, Blue Crevalle Racing and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, won the GI Just a Game Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths on June 6 at 6-1 odds.Casse has had success with fillies running with the boys before. Hall of Famer Tepin (Bernstein) beat colts multiple times–including the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Mile—and Got Stormy (Get Stormy) was victorious twice in the Fourstardave (2019, 2021).“A lot depends on who owns them,” Casse said about the decision to take on males. “A lot of them don't want to step out of the box. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. I don't know if there is a filly around that would want to mess with Nitrogen. We are looking for a new challenge. With Counting Stars, she still has something to prove before she goes down that road.”Antiquarian Looking for Another Big Saratoga WinAt the end of last year's Saratoga season, Antiquarian (Preservationist) was almost an afterthought after the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. He won the race at odds of 11-1, but more people were talking about what happened during the race than what happened after Antiquarian won it.That was the race where Mindframe (Constitution), the second choice in the wagering, lost rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. and ran loose around the track.Antiquarian and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez won by 1 1/2 lengths.The 5-year-old horse, owned by Centennial Farms, will making his fifth career Saratoga start Saturday when he runs in the $500,000 GII Suburban Stakes at 1 1/4 miles. He is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the field of 11.He was last seen finishing fourth in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Met Mile on Belmont Stakes Day at the Spa last month. His trainer, Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, said it was a “strange” race for his horse.“We never thought he would be part of the early pace,” Pletcher said outside his office at the Oklahoma Training Track. “Our intentions were to track. As everyone knows, it was speed favoring that weekend. We wanted to get out there and get in good position early, but he ended up showing a little more speed and it caught Johnny off guard a little bit.”Pletcher said the mile is not the desired distance for Antiquarian and stretching out should be a benefit to him.Antiquarian has started 12 times in his career and has five wins and three seconds. Before running in the Met Mile, he won the one-mile GIII Westchester Stakes at Aqueduct in his first start this year.The post Saratoga Notebook: Mott Not Giving Up On Sovereignty appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.