Golden Tempo passes them all again to land Belmont Stakes

Although a great story with his last-to-first victory in the Kentucky Derby (G1), hung over the head of Golden Tempo in the intervening five weeks, was the widespread belief that his had been an opportunistic success, given the favorable pace scenario and his relatively clean trip.

With the pace projected to be far slower, and with a field of only nine likely to result in a more cleanly run race, expectations were again modest for Golden Tempo heading into Saturday's $2 million Belmont (G1), held for the third and final year at Saratoga over a reduced 1 1/4 miles before its scheduled return to Belmont Park's refurbished 1 1/2-mile oval next year.

Golden Tempo defied the critics again, rallying from the rear of the field and outstaying Commandment inside the final furlong to win by 1 1/4 lengths under Jose Ortiz.

Cherie DeVaux, who conditions Golden Tempo for owner-breeder Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, became the second female trainer to win the Belmont, following Jenna Antonucci's success with Arcangelo in 2023. DeVaux, however, is the first female trainer to win two classics.

The pace of the Belmont was indeed slower than the Derby, :23.96 and :48.29 set by Powershift while under pressure from Growth Equity, but that also meant Golden Tempo had less ground to make up than at Churchill Downs. Saving ground down the backside, Golden Tempo was never more than 7 3/4 lengths off the lead.

Growth Equity put away Powershift on the far turn, but gearing up from just off the pace were Chief Wallabee and Emerging Market. Renegade attempted to find a seam between rivals, while Golden Tempo and Commandment moved in tandem while rallying wide.

A four-horse scramble for the lead emerged at the eighth pole, but it quickly became a two-horse race as Golden Tempo and Commandment were proving stoutest inside the final furlong. Commandment took one final run at Golden Tempo, but the latter had too much in reserve and pulled away late to a decisive victory.

"Obviously, there were doubters after the Derby, like Cherie said: we were very confident with the kind of horse we had going into the Derby and going into the Belmont. I'm glad everyone else got to see that today, too," said co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito. 

Contested in a brief deluge of rain and with the participants' coats liberally caked when returned to be unsaddled, the final time was a modest 2:03.49. Golden Tempo paid $14 as the fourth choice.

Commandment finished four lengths clear of Renegade, who had 3 1/4 lengths on Chief Wallabee. Emerging Market finished fifth, followed by Growth Equity, Vitruvian Man, Ottinho, and Powershift.

A Kentucky-bred son of Curlin and Grade 3 winner Carrumba, by Bernardini, Golden Tempo enters the summer season as the undisputed leading three-year-old colt. He preceded his Kentucky Derby score with a win in the Lecomte (G3) and thirds in the Risen Star (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2), all at Fair Grounds. He is 2-for-3 since adding blinkers.

"I do think we made the right decision. I don't think we'd have the same horse if we did run back in two weeks," said DeVaux when asked if connections had second thoughts about bypassing the Preakness (G1). "That's a horse-by-horse, case-by-case decision. And for him, as much growth as we've seen in him, it would've been hard for him to follow that up in two weeks and then subsequently three weeks.

"Obviously, the Travers (G1) is going to be our next big goal and how we get there, but you can see it on the track, what all of our markers are, is what we're hoping to translate to what we saw today."