HorseCenter: Haskell Stakes, Jim Dandy early look

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

This week on HorseCenter Brian Zipse and Matt Shifman revisit the exciting 3-year-old male division. Sovereignty and Journalism were the stars of the 2025 Triple Crown series, and both excellent colts are training well and expected back to the races soon. With the $1.25 million, Grade 1 Travers Stakes looming in six weeks, the Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park and the Jim Dandy (G2) at Saratoga will not only serve as key preps, but they will be big races in their own right.

In the 1 1/8-mile Haskell Stakes, Journalism leads the way among 18 nominations for the $1 million event on July 19. Other prominent names expected to make the trip to the Jersey Shore for Monmouth’s signature event are Gosger, Burnham Square, Mo Plex, Goal Oriented and Bracket Buster.

Meanwhile at Saratoga, Sovereignty will go favored in the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 26. Opposition to the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner will be led by Baeza, who was third in both of those races, as well as Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman and Peter Pan (G3) winner Hill Road.

Brian: Matt, we now know that Journalism will be in the Haskell, and the Preakness winner will be the one they all have to beat. After a grueling Triple Crown schedule, he was the only horse to run in all three legs. I think this race makes plenty of sense for Journalism as the New Jersey track plays closer to his home tracks in Southern California. Horses from the west have done well in this race over the years. There also will be speed in the field to set up his rally, and he would avoid Sovereignty for a race. 

If he is coming back this quickly, he must be showing no signs of burnout from the tough spring. The four-time graded-stakes winner runs well every time out, can overcome trouble and should only get better with maturity. Let’s not forget that when Sovereignty put him away in the Belmont, Journalism had reason to be just a little bit tired after tough races in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Matt: That is a bit of an understatement about horses from the west doing well in the Haskell. Bob Baffert alone has won the race nine times from 2001 to 2020. Richard Mandella won twice, including in 2023 with Geaux Rocket Ride.

For the most part the Haskell is won by big-name trainers with big barns. Many of them are Hall of Famers such as Baffert, Mandella, Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen, Bobby Frankel and Shug McGaughey. Brad Cox and Chad Brown are on their way to the Hall of Fame when they become eligible.

Aron Wellman, president of Journalism co-owner Eclipse Thoroughbreds, told Horse Racing Nation that if the horse’s final workout this weekend goes as planned then he will ship east to run at Monmouth Park.

Brian: Two horses who Journalism defeated in the Preakness will make their first start since the middle jewel when they run in Monmouth’s biggest race. Gosger is a very handsome and well-bred colt who looks to have his best days ahead of him. He has improved with each race and although what Journalism did at Pimlico was nothing short of amazing, it was this son of Nyquist who did everything right the first nine furlongs of the trip. Freshened since and working at Churchill Downs, he should be ready to roll for trainer Brendan Walsh in his fifth career start.

Meanwhile, Goal Oriented ran a pretty good race at Pimlico, considering his lack of experience. The Not This Time colt was coming off only a six-furlong maiden and a Churchill allowance race and still he was right there to put the squeeze on Journalism at the head of the stretch. He stayed on well for fourth that afternoon. Working very well at Santa Anita of late, he is a big threat to give Baffert another win in the Haskell.

Matt: The horses that Brian mentioned all are nice 3-year-olds who have flashed plenty of potential. Not sure there is enough upside in any of them if Journalism shows up in top form.

Gosger is a home-red by the Harvey A. Clarke Racing Stable. His dam Gloria S. produced six foals, and all of them were winners. Together they won 17 races and earned more than $2.2 million on the track. Gosger is joined by Harvey’s Lil Goil as a graded-stakes winner. She won the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) and four Grade 3 stakes.

Baffert will have to work his magic on Goal Oriented to have him ready to get Haskell victory No.10. Baffert is the king of the Haskell and clearly knows how to get his horses ready to use speed to their advantage. Goal Oriented has two very fast five-furlong works of 58.0 and 58.6 seconds at Santa Anita the past two weeks.

Brian: Since I saw him win the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, Burnham Square has not had much good luck. In the Kentucky Derby he was down on the rail and ready to run before getting completely shut off. In a race that always features tough luck for some, it was this colt who had the absolute worst of it. Still, he came on again to finish sixth. Next out, he faced a paceless race in the Matt Winn (G3) and still gave East Avenue all he wanted. I think the son of Liam’s Map is sitting on a big effort, and maybe a little bit better luck, heading into the Haskell.

Matt: Burnham Square should be considered a win contender in the Haskell based on his Grade 1 and Grade 3 victories on the Derby trail. His sixth-place finish in the run for the roses is certainly noteworthy. He won the Blue Grass with a late rally at Keeneland, which like Monmouth Park has a reputation as a speed-favoring track.

Brian: There can be no speculation on who will be favored in the Jim Dandy. I believe this is a strong crop of 3-year-old males we have in 2025, and Sovereignty deserves to be at the head of the class. After two promising efforts going one turn to begin his career, the strapping son of Into Mischief has been sensational in five races going a route of ground. His wins in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes were comprehensive and impressive. 

Trained by Bill Mott, he will drop back down to nine furlongs for the Jim Dandy and stay at Saratoga, where he won the Belmont. He’s 0-for-1 at the distance and if you want to take a shot to beat him, remember that his Hall of Fame trainer did not have him fully cranked up in the race before the Kentucky Derby, and he might not be again in the prep for the Travers.

Matt: Sovereignty is not only the leading 3-year-old, but he also is ranked No. 2 in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association top Thoroughbred poll behind only Mindframe. Brian, you and I both put Sovereignty in the top spot in this week’s voting.

With Sovereignty, certainly the longer the race the more his advantage over the other 3-year-olds increases. But cutting back to nine furlongs in the Jim Dandy probably does not put him at a disadvantage. He won the Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park and the Street Sense (G3) at Churchill going 8 1/2 furlongs.

No doubt that the longer term goals for Sovereignty are the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Bill Mott is an old-school trainer who does not always have his horses at 100% because he has his eyes on the biggest prizes.

Brian: John Shirreffs has trained very good horses over the years, most notably Zenyatta. I listen when he says all the right things about his still-developing colt Baeza. The beautifully bred half-brother to Mage and Dornoch gave away some experience to Sovereignty and Journalism in his races with them and has the right to improve with maturity. The Kentucky Derby was particularly good when he came flying after leveling off in the stretch. He’s training well since his third in the Belmont and should be ready to move forward. But he might have been born the wrong year.

Matt: Although I am not convinced that Baeza belongs in the same discussion of the top sophomores with Sovereignty and Journalism, I have to pay attention to the fact that Shirreffs is keeping him on the path to the Jim Dandy, where Sovereignty will be waiting. There are certainly easier spots across the country in which Baeza would be favored to win.

Brian: Sandman looks to be a legitimate third choice in the Jim Dandy and has had more time off than his top competition. After a solid win in the Arkansas Derby (G1), the handsome son of Tapit was not quite good enough when seventh on a wet track in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness. Bred to get better with maturity, he has a nice win in his only previous start at Saratoga. I easily could see him run better this summer than he did in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, but I still don’t know if that will be enough.

Matt: Sandman garnered more than his share of media attention on the Derby trail with all the publicity from the social media influencer Griffin Johnson. In general, trainer Mark Casse has been making the right decisions and is ranked third in the country by earnings and fifth by number of wins.

Since June, Sandman has been training at Saratoga with the Jim Dandy as his first goal this summer. Casse was the leading money winner at last week’s Belmont at Saratoga meeting where his horses were running well with a record of 11: 3-5-2.

Brian: The Travers is shaping up to be a great race later this summer. Magnitude, who has looked so good in going gate to wire in the Risen Star (G2) and Iowa Derby, would be a very interesting addition to the mix, but for now the Haskell and the Jim Dandy look like two excellent preps for the big one of the summer. Led by Sovereignty and Journalism, this 3-year-old male crop continues to impress.

Matt: Bracket Buster won the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth, which is the local prep for the Haskell, by seven lengths after getting geared down in the stretch. Trained by Vicky Oliver in Kentucky, he had the lead in the Lexington (G3) before getting passed by Gosger. The son of Vekoma is among the 18 horses nominated for the big race on July 19.

Mo Plex won the Ohio Derby (G3) in June giving him a second graded victory and is likely to show up in the Haskell or the Jim Dandy. The New York-bred from the barn of Jeremiah Englehart is yet another nice 3-year-old. He hit the board in all eight of his races, and his five wins include a state-bred stakes to go with the Grade 3 scores and a third in the Champagne (G1).