If Sovereignty were to miss the Preakness, he would become the fourth Derby winner in the past seven Triple Crown seasons to do so (with a technicality in one of those cases). Mott’s own Country House missed out when a respiratory infection turned up the Tuesday morning after the Derby, but he already seemed a bit circumspect that year.

Sovereignty’s Kentucky Derby victory in the muck at Churchill Downs sparked curiosity over whether the colt can build on his signature win over a possibly drier, faster surface on the Triple Crown trail.