Golden Tempo Quiets Doubters in Belmont Stakes

Winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) can lead to fame, fortune, and a lucrative stallion deal. But for Golden Tempo there was also skepticism. Aside from winning at 23-1 odds May 2, there was widespread conjecture that he was able to close from last in a field of 18 because of brutal early fractions. He also had a relatively smooth trip in a roughly run opening leg of the Triple Crown. And there were ruffled feathers after the connections bypassed the May 16 Preakness Stakes (G1) and did not pursue a sweep of racing's most cherished series. "I think there were doubts because (Derby runner-up) Renegade ran so well and he had trouble," Golden Tempo's trainer Cherie DeVaux said. "So, there were thoughts that Renegade could have won the race, but they have been put to bed." Indeed they were. All of the doubts about Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred son of Curlin disappeared in a couple of New York minutes as Golden Tempo served up an encore of his Run for the Roses score with a 1 1/4-length victory over Commandment in the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds June 6 at Saratoga Race Course. "I think this proved a point," winning jockey Jose Ortiz said. The point surely resonated with the winning owners. It was the first Belmont Stakes win for Vinnie and Teresa Viola of St. Elias Stable, who won the 2017 Kentucky Derby with Always Dreaming. For the Phipps family, it resurrected sweet memories of decades ago. Specifically, 1989 when Ogden Phipps, the grandfather of the siblings that now run the stable with their mother, captured the Belmont Stakes with the Hall of Famer Easy Goer. "These are the races that you want to win when you are a kid growing up who loves horse racing," said Daisy Phipps Pulito, the manager of day-to-day operations for Phipps Stable. "For my great-grandmother, grandfather, father, when they would mate their horses they would ask, 'Is this the one that is going to win the Derby, or the Preakness, or the Belmont?' These are the ones you target and, if you are lucky enough to win them, they are life-changing." For Pulito, much of her 53 years have been spent at racetracks or farms. New York, in particular, has been a base for the Phipps stable for generations, making what happened Saturday so special, even if the setting was the third and final edition of the Belmont at the Spa. "The Belmont is incredibly important to my family. They have been associated with the New York Racing Association and Belmont Park and Saratoga for 100 years. These are our home tracks, so this is incredibly special to us," Pulito said. "When I walk through here, which I have done for 53 years of my life, I know all the people: the security guards, the guys working the concession stands, the people in the parking lot. I am going to go back to my car to drive home, and those guys are going to hug me because I've known them most of my life. It's special to share this with them." In rallying from last despite moderate fractions to take the Belmont, Golden Tempo crushed thoughts that he was pace dependent. But did it illustrate how he could have won the Preakness and perhaps become the 14th Triple Crown winner? DeVaux said she had no regrets about skipping the middle jewel and running in the final one on five weeks' rest. "I do think we made the right decision. I don't think we would have the same horse if we had run back in two weeks," said DeVaux, who became the first female trainer to win two Triple Crown races and the second to register a Belmont win after Jena Antonucci won the 2023 Belmont with Arcangelo. "It's a horse-by-horse, case-by-case decision. And for him, just as much growth as we've seen in him, it would have been hard for him to follow that up in two weeks and subsequently three weeks." On an afternoon when a paid crowd of 46,128 turned out and rain started five minutes before post time for the Belmont and ended along with the race, the lack of respect for Golden Tempo could also be found on the tote board. He was the 6-1 fourth choice in the wagering, behind Renegade (8-5 favorite), Chief Wallabee (5-1), and Emerging Market (5-1), all of whom finished behind him in the Derby. He was joined at 6-1 by Commandment, who was seventh on the first Saturday in May. Powershift grabbed the lead in the Belmont, battling with Growth Equity through fractions of :23.96, :48.29, and 1:12.38, as Ortiz and Golden Tempo were ninth and last after he brushed the gate and broke to the outside from post 9. Growth Equity forged to the front on the final turn of the 1 1/4-mile classic, but he was soon joined by Chief Wallabee, and they turned into the stretch battling for the lead. Meanwhile, Ortiz had asked Golden Tempo to kick into gear earlier than he did five weeks earlier. The son of the Bernardini mare Carrumba quickly moved into contention six wide on the turn, with Florida Derby (G1) winner Commandment also rallying outside of him. The front two weakened approaching the eighth pole, and Golden Tempo and Commandment rocketed past them. In the final furlong, the Kentucky Derby winner ($14) edged clear and covered the 1 1/4 miles in 2:03.49 to become a dual classic winner. "I was just waiting for the right moment to go all in and, when I asked him, my horse responded," Ortiz said. Commandment, a son of Into Mischief owned by Wathnan Racing and trained by Brad Cox, was a clear second. "I was proud of my horse's effort," Cox said. "(Jockey John Velazquez) said he thought he had it the last sixteenth, but (Golden Tempo) edged away from him a little bit." Four lengths back in third was Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low's favored Renegade, an Into Mischief colt who lacked the strong closing kick he used to finish second by a neck in the Kentucky Derby. "It wasn't the same sustained run that he made in the Derby," trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he was a little flat today." DeVaux said Golden Tempo's main target for the summer would be the Travers Stakes (G1) at the Spa, where he may finally be favored and respected.