Weeks after fall, jockey Junior Alvarado rebounds to win muddy Kentucky Derby aboard Sovereignty

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Temporarily sidelined by a hard fall, jockey Junior Alvarado put it behind him with the ride of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby.

Most satisfying was guiding Sovereignty past other horses in the slop before drawing a bead on 3-1 favorite Journalism and chasing him down to win the 151st running at Churchill Downs by 1 1/2 lengths. The effort left Alvarado and his mount caked in mud, wearing it proudly along with the garland of red roses that were draped over the winner.

"Still sinking in, to be honest," the Venezuelan rider said of his breakthrough. “It means the world to me, for me and my family. Coming from my country where the only race we would be able to watch back there was just the Kentucky Derby.

"I said that would be nice to be in the United States and ride in the Kentucky Derby. Little by little I started to point that out to be, to make it come true. Today, we did just that."

The impressive performance came after the Venezuelan rider fractured his shoulder in a March 23 fall at Gulfstream Park in Florida after his horse had a heart attack. Alvarado returned three weeks later at Keeneland and won a couple of claiming races at Churchill Downs this week - which included another fall on Thursday - before bouncing back with a signature ride.

Riding Sovereignty was never in question despite the injury. He missed the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29 - where Manny Franco rode the bay colt to a second-place finish behind Tappan Street - but Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott reiterated that as long as Alvarado was healthy, the horse he rode to two graded stakes wins on the Derby trail awaited him.

The next step was clearing several obstacles as the 9-1 third betting choice coming out of the gate.

For starters, clipping heels with a competitor as the 19-horse field passed the grandstand the first time. There was concern that Sovereignty might lose a shoe from the contact. Then, making sure he didn’t lose too much ground while rounding the turns.

"When we turned to the backside, he was still traveling very beautifully until we hit the five(-eighths) pole," Alvarado said. "That’s when he kind of said to me, 'I'm ready.’"

Alvarado steered Sovereignty into contention along with Journalism entering the stretch before finally clearing him in the stretch. The finish earned firsts for Dubai-based stable Godolphin, an outright win for Mott after getting the 2019 Derby via disqualification and vindication for Alvarado after a scary setback.

"Junior did a terrific job of getting him over," Mott said. "Fortunately, there was a lot of speed in the race. It set up well for us because they had an honest pace. … He tipped him out and got him in a spot that he was going to be clear down the backside."