Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred Golden Tempo, winner of the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, breezed 5 furlongs in 1:00 1/5 May 23 under jockey Jose Ortiz over a drying-out "good" track at Keeneland in preparation for the June 6 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The workout was the second of three planned breezes at the Lexington track, the primary base for trainer Cherie DeVaux, before Golden Temp heads to New York for the third and final leg of the Triple Crown.
He skipped the second leg of the series, the May 16 Preakness Stakes (G1), to await the Belmont three weeks later…becoming the third healthy winner of the Derby to do so since 2022.
The workout originally was planned for May 22 but was postponed due to sloppy track conditions after steady rains in the area.
Breezing in company with stakes-placed 4-year-old So Sandy at 9 a.m. ET after the second track renovation period, Golden Tempo produced fractions of :12, :23 2/5, :35 1/5, and :47 4/5, before galloping out three-quarters in 1:13 2/5 and seven-eighths in 1:27 2/5.
"Really pleased with his work this morning," DeVaux said. "Jose was aboard, and from both what he felt and what I saw, Golden Tempo looks to be in good shape to have another big race and take another step forward.
"We're hoping to breeze back next week with a maintenance work on Friday and then ship to New York on Saturday."
The day after his last-to-first rally to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, Golden Tempo returned to DeVaux's barn at Keeneland, located with other stables away from the main facility on Rice Road.
Golden Tempo was back on the work tab May 15, the day before the Preakness, with a time of :48 3/5 for 4 furlongs.
Golden Tempo, a son of Curlin and a Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred, has won three races in five starts and has earned $3,433,000. At the beginning of 2026, he was stabled at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, where he won the Jan. 17 Lecomte Stakes (G3) and was third in both the Feb. 14 Risen Star (G2) and the March 21 Louisiana Derby (G2).
A large field is anticipated for the Belmont, with Kentucky Derby runner-up and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Renegade leading the opposition. Other leading contenders for the race include Chief Wallabee, Commandment, Emerging Market, and Powershift.
This marks the third straight year the Belmont Stakes will be contested at Saratoga due to ongoing reconstruction at Belmont. It is run at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga, not at its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance, due to the course configuration at Saratoga.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
