Golden Tempo's victory in Saturday's Grade 1, $2 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets at Saratoga Race Course was not merely a race result — it was a moment that reshaped the historical record of American thoroughbred racing in multiple directions at once, confirming the son of Curlin as the 13th horse to complete the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes double and securing trainer Cherie DeVaux's place as the only woman to have trained winners of multiple Triple Crown races.

The Performance

Contesting the Belmont at ten furlongs for the third and final time at Saratoga before the race returns to a rebuilt Belmont Park in 2027, Golden Tempo settled last from post nine under Jose Ortiz, absorbed early pace fractions of 23.96, 48.29 and 1:12.38 set by the front-running Powershift, and delivered the single decisive run his connections have come to rely upon. Straightening with six rivals fanned across the track, he collared Chief Wallabee inside the final furlong and drew clear of Commandment and Renegade to win by one and a quarter lengths in 2:03.49, returning $14 on a $2 win ticket. His career bankroll now stands at $4,633,000.

The finishing order behind the winner told a coherent story of the race. Commandment, the Grade 1 Florida Derby winner trained by Brad Cox, held second by four lengths despite Velazquez conceding his mount loses ground through turns. Renegade, who had run Golden Tempo to a neck in the Kentucky Derby, filled third for Todd Pletcher and Irad Ortiz, Jr., while Chief Wallabee — the defending Belmont champion under Junior Alvarado — completed the superfecta. Emerging Market, Growth Equity, Vitruvian Man, Ottinho and Powershift followed in order.

Ortiz and DeVaux

Ortiz has now partnered Golden Tempo in each of the colt's six career outings, a continuity that clearly matters to DeVaux. The Puerto Rican jockey described a ride that was deliberate and unhurried — taking the colt back, finding cover, waiting for the moment — consistent with what delivered the Kentucky Derby upset five weeks prior at odds of 23-1. Ortiz also owns a personal Triple Crown and added this Belmont to his 2017 victory aboard Tapwrit, with his Grade 1 Preakness win in 2022 aboard Early Voting also on his record. His Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks double this season — Golden Tempo and Always a Runner — was noted by connections as a measure of the year he has put together.

DeVaux, who started her first horse just eight years ago, had been explicit ahead of the race: there would be no attempt to alter Golden Tempo's late-running style regardless of what the pace scenario looked like. She trusted her horse and her rider, and that trust was vindicated. Her observation that Golden Tempo broke more alertly than in the Derby while still finding himself at the rear of the field underlined how thoroughly the colt's profile had been understood and accepted by his connections. The significance of her Belmont win is compounded by the fact that Jena Antonucci, who trained Arcangelo to victory in 2023, was the only woman to have previously achieved it.

Owner Perspective

Golden Tempo is a Kentucky homebred for Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, a sixth-generation product of the Phipps breeding operation. His dam is the Grade 3-winning Carrumba, with his female line tracing to Lady Pitt, a daughter of Reine-de-Course. Daisy Phipps Pulito, who operates Phipps Stable alongside her brother Ogden Phipps II, noted that the stable's last Belmont Stakes victory came with Easy Goer in 1989 under Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey — close to four decades ago. The weight of that gap, and the family legacy it represents, was not lost on her remarks.

Trainer Reactions

Pletcher, reflecting on Renegade's effort, suggested the colt may have needed more time between starts after his demanding Derby run. His assessment was straightforward — Renegade found clear running approaching the stretch but could not sustain the same momentum he had shown five weeks earlier. On the pacemaker Powershift, Pletcher pointed to a mid-race incident near the quarter pole and the track's unpredictable condition following a sudden pre-race downpour as possible contributing factors to the colt's retreat.

Bill Mott, whose Chief Wallabee had won last year's Belmont with Sovereignty — subsequently named Horse of the Year — was measured in his response. The trainer acknowledged that a mile and a quarter had likely stretched his colt's stamina, while Alvarado confirmed there were no excuses and that Chief Wallabee had responded when asked, simply unable to contain the three closers that came past him late.

What Comes Next

DeVaux was careful not to overcommit on the summer schedule but made clear that the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers at Saratoga on August 29 represents the primary target. Golden Tempo, a horse whose career has unfolded race by race with a clarity of purpose that now looks inevitable in hindsight, arrives at that conversation as a two-time Grade 1 winner, a colt who has beaten older form on paper and proven form in practice — and a trainer who has now demonstrated she can win the big ones more than once.

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