Sovereignty wins Horse of the Year at Eclipse Awards, Bill Mott named top trainer
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/01/2026 (213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Sovereignty won Horse of the Year at the Eclipse Awards on Thursday night, as well as 3-year-old male honors, and Bill Mott, who guided the colt to victories in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, was named trainer of the year.
Sovereignty skipped the Preakness and won the Belmont during Triple Crown season. He was forced to miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of a fever.
The 55th annual ceremony at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach also crowned Ted Noffey as 2-year-old male horse, capping a season in which he went 4-for-4, including a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
The colt trainer by Todd Pletcher is the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby in May.
Ted Noffey won his career debut at Saratoga in August. He followed up with an 8 1/2-length victory in the Hopeful Stakes at the upstate New York track. Then came a 2 3/4-length win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He closed 2025 with a one-length win in the BC Juvenile at Del Mar.
In other categories, Flavien Prat won jockey of the year and Pietro Moran was named apprentice jockey. Godolphin LLC, the racing and breeding operation of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, won as owner. Godolphin was named breeder of the year.
Other male winners were Japan-bred Forever Young as older dirt male; Book’em Danno as male sprinter; and Britain-bred Notable Speech as male turf horse.
Among female horses, Super Corredora won as 2-year-old filly; Nitrogen was chosen 3-year-old filly; Thorpedo Anna was named older dirt female; Shisospicy won female sprinter; and She Feels Pretty won female turf horse honors.
Cool Jet took steeplechase horse honors.
Named for the 18th-century horse and sire Eclipse, the awards are voted on by members of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form and National Turf Writers and Broadcasters.
___
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing