Jim Dandy 2025
One week after Journalism put another stamp on his 3-year-old season with a win in the Haskell Stakes, Sovereignty has the chance to do the same in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga. It sure seems like those are clearly the two best 3-year-olds in the nation, but Baeza and three other competitors are hoping to knock off the heavy favorite this weekend.
Seven stakes races are on the Saratoga slate for Saturday, but this is the biggest of them, as the horses will go nine furlongs in Race 10 of 12 with a 5:41 p.m. ET post time
Jim Dandy Stakes 2025 Entries, Horses, Jockeys, and Trainers:
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Odds |
| 1 | Baeza | H. Berrios | J. Shirreffs | 3-1 |
| 2 | Sandman | J. Ortiz | M. Casse | 6-1 |
| 3 | Mo Plex | M. Franco | J. Englehart | 10-1 |
| 4 | Hill Road | I. Ortiz Jr. | C. Brown | 12-1 |
| 5 | Sovereignty | J. Alvarado | B. Mott | 2/5 |
Unlike last week’s Haskell, this race is not a “win and in” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar later this year. However, it is usually viewed as the final prep for the G1 Travers Stakes that carries a very large prize purse. That race will be in four weeks. For now, we’ve got the Jim Dandy and it has the chance to be a dandy, despite the small field.
Here are some thoughts on each horse at the odds at time of publish:
1. Baeza (3-1; Berrios/Shirreffs): Baeza has finished third behind Sovereignty and Journalism in two G1 races already this year and second to Journalism in another. After breaking his maiden on Valentine’s Day at Santa Anita, the son of McKinzie and Puca has been bested by the two best 3-year-olds on the planet. He only has to contend with one of them here and this is a far smaller field with just five horses, as opposed to the enormous field for the Kentucky Derby and the field of eight in the Belmont Stakes.
Baeza does have a rider change back to Hector Berrios here after Flavien Prat drew the assignment in both Triple Crown races. Berrios was second to Umberto Rispoli and Journalism in the five-horse Santa Anita Derby at a 14-1 price. This race is the same 1 ⅛-mile length, as Journalism passed Baeza to win by ¾ of a length in the final sprint to the finish.
2. Sandman (5-1; J. Ortiz/Casse): Sandman, partially owned by influencer Griffin Johnson, is back to work after finishing third in the Preakness Stakes to Journalism and Gosger. Despite a very lofty pedigree with Tapit and three-time winner Distorted Music, Sandman’s lone win of consequence came in the Arkansas Derby against a much lesser crop of 3-year-olds than what he’s seen in other races. He’ll try blinkers here and he’s been a really deep closer in his two biggest data points. Will he have enough to close against the pace horse in Mo Plex and better closers in Sovereignty and Baeza?
3. Mo Plex (10-1; Franco/Englehart): The G3 Ohio Derby winner has five victories to his name, including a sprint win at Aqueduct back in April. The Ohio Derby was his first race over a mile and he took the victory at a good price for Jeremiah Englehart. That win came with Joe Ramos in the irons and now Manny Franco is back in the mount after his Bay Shore win at Aqueduct aboard the Complexity and Mo Joy colt.
In a field of closers, Mo Plex is likely to run out front and we’ll see if he has enough in the tank to hold off the late chargers. The answer is probably no, but he should at least have a chance at a pass/fail grade.
4. Hill Road (12-1; I. Ortiz/Brown): Hill Road’s fourth start as a 3-year-old comes after finishing fifth in the Belmont. His Peter Pan Stakes win back on May 10 was a very impressive showing, but none of the top runners in his class were on hand. He was third with a good closing effort in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, won by Citizen Bull, but that race is an example of why the Juvenile sometimes isn’t a good barometer for 3-year-olds.
Sovereignty, Journalism, Baeza, and several other top horses were not in the Del Mar field as 2-year-olds. Furthermore, there aren’t a lot of G1 data points from that Juvenile field. Though this is a G2 race, it’s obvious that Sovereignty and Baeza are not G2 horses.
5. Sovereignty (2/5; Alvarado/Mott): Four-time Jim Dandy winner Bill Mott has the best horse in the field here, as the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes is odds-on at Saratoga. Maybe a saving grace for the other runners and their connections is that Sovereignty’s only non-win in his last five races came at 1 ⅛ miles. He was second in the Florida Derby after winning the Fountain of Youth four weeks earlier.
Is it a crazy thought to think that Sovereignty gets beat here? The Fountain of Youth win and the fall win in the Street Sense gave Sovereignty more than enough points for the Kentucky Derby. It felt like the Florida Derby was just keeping him in shape to get some work in a competitive environment. Is that what this is with the Travers coming and then the Breeders’ Cup Classic?
Jim Dandy Stakes Predictions
I think it’ll be Baeza here. Sovereignty is good enough to win and certainly good enough to finish second even with a disinterested trip. But, I don’t think that Junior Alvarado is going to go all out here. Similarly, Sandman may be helped by the blinkers given his awkward running style, but as trainer Mark Casse said, “It’s better to find out in the Jim Dandy than the Travers.”
John Shirreffs needs this win. Hector Berrios is back on the ride. It was different last week for Journalism with the automatic qualifier to the Classic. The same carrot isn’t dangling here for the best horse in the field.
Mo Plex running out front early intrigues me as well, as Sovereignty could be held back a tad and Sandman’s a wild card.
Prediction: 1-3-5-
For more coverage, check out our horse racing page.
