Kentucky Derby And Belmont Winner Golden Tempo Targets Travers Stakes

Golden Tempo used a huge late kick to win the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He now targets the Travers for his next start

Coady Photography

Golden Tempo captured the hearts of the sporting world with dramatic wins in both the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in the Spring. With the high-profile Summer Stakes races getting under way, trainer Cherie DeVaux has mapped out a plan for her prized three-year-old colt that has him training up to his next start in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga on August 29.

Golden Tempo Leader Among Three-Year-Old Class

In winning the world’s most famous race, Golden Tempo placed himself as a real player in the Thoroughbred game. Last down the backstretch, lightning struck as this stretch-running son of Curlin thundered home with powerful strides and won the Kentucky Derby at odds of 23 to 1 under a brilliant ride from jockey Jose Ortiz. The more you replay Derby 152, the more amazing it becomes as this miraculous run was nothing short of Golden.

After bypassing the Preakness Stakes, the Golden Tempo team went to Saratoga for the Belmont Stakes with something to prove. After becoming the first female to condition a Kentucky Derby champion, DeVaux was eager to show she was not a rising female trainer but just a rising trainer period. Tempo carried that 23 to 1 moniker into the starting gates as other entrants were favored over him as some viewed him as a “lucky” winner on the first Saturday in May. And then the gates opened and Golden Tempo set the record straight. Breaking from the outside post in a 9-horse field, the Phipps Stables and St. Elias Stables owned colt careened up the backstretch looking at all the others. When the real running started, there was Golden Tempo confidently crushing it down the stretch. Rolling to the finish a powerful length and a quarter to the good, there was no doubt as to who the best three-year-old was on that day and in this 2026 crop.

Slight Health Issue Dictates Decision To Train Up To Travers Stakes

As Golden Tempo currently resides at the head of the three-year-old class, others have been eager to take him on. The original plan was to run a race between the Belmont and the Travers as a prep for the Mid-Summer Derby. As the oldest Stakes race for three-year-olds in the United States, the Travers carries major importance in the sport. After a health hiccup, DeVaux decided to keep her colt on the training track until it was time for the summer showcase on August 29.

“Golden Tempo had the beginning of a lung infection and he had to miss some training”, says DeVaux. “He is doing just fine now and is back on the training track now but it was enough we thought it was best to just train up to the Travers.”

The Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 18 and the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on August 1 are both major prep races for the Travers and could determine who will enter the starting gates against Golden Tempo in the Spa’s marquee event for three-year-old colts. For the Tempo team, the opposition is not a concern, simply being ready to be Golden again on race day is the focus.

Golden Tempo has three wins and two third place finishes in five career starts while earning $4,633,000 on the track.