Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo backed up his win on The First Saturday in May with an impressive win over Commandment in the $2 million Belmont Stakes (G1) on Saturday, June 6 at Saratoga. Next year, the Belmont Stakes will return to its Long Island home at Belmont Park.

Golden Tempo’s historic Belmont victory made Cherie DeVaux the second woman to train a Belmont Stakes winner following Jena Antonucci’s feat in 2023 with Arcangelo. DeVaux, who has made a rapid ascent to the forefront of popular media and culture after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, adds a Belmont to her crown just eight years after starting her first horse. She is now the only woman to train a winner of multiple Triple Crown races.

“Jose did the right thing and took him back knowing he makes that one run. Not surprised that he won, but we’re really grateful that he did,” said DeVaux.

A Kentucky Homebred for Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable

A Kentucky homebred for Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, Golden Tempo entered the Belmont from his last-to-first Derby victory on May 2 over returning rival Renegade, upsetting the 18-horse field at odds of 23-1. In January, he posted a late-running victory in the Grade 3 Lecomte at Fair Grounds Race Course, the site of a pair of Grade 2 thirds in the Risen Star in February and in the Louisiana Derby in March, efforts that earned him a spot in the Kentucky Derby.

Daisy Phipps Pulito, who operates Phipps Stable with her brother Ogden Phipps, II, said it is rewarding for the esteemed stable to win their first Belmont Stakes since Hall of Famer Easy Goer took the 1989 edition for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

“It’s been a hot minute since we won the Belmont Stakes, [nearly] 40 years, but what my great grandmother, grandfather and father built, Ogden and I, and the Violas, got the rewards from,” Phipps Pulito said. “I mean, he’s a phenomenal horse; he’s got a fantastic pedigree. 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.”

Golden Tempo was last heading into the backstretch with Commandment racing just ahead and outside of him under Hall of Famer John Velazquez. Commandment and Golden Tempo had only Ottinho beat late in the turn and were full of run as they ran up on the embattled pacesetters. Renegade followed the closers under Irad Ortiz, Jr. while Powershift retreated and the field fanned wide into the lane after the mile in 1:37.56.

With six rivals spread across the track, it was Chief Wallabee who led the fray as Emerging Market stalled and a stubborn Growth Equity dug in along the inside. But with an eighth of a mile to run, the trio of Renegade, Golden Tempo, and Commandment loomed large and inhaled Chief Wallabee. And while each of the distinguished colts showed an impressive late foot, it was Golden Tempo who boasted the superior momentum between rivals, drawing off from  Renegade and staving off Commandment to score in a final time of 2:03.49.

“I tried to make my move at the right time, with Renegade and Commandment,” Ortiz said. “He handled the track very well. He handled the mile and a quarter very well. I tried to keep him tactical, in contention with the field.”

Historic Run for Golden Tempo

With two jewels of the Triple Crown now affixed to her resume, DeVaux could look to add a Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers victory to her growing list of accolades on Aug. 29 with her prized colt.

“He’s a horse that we are very excited about,” DeVaux said. “We’ll talk about a plan. Obviously, the Travers 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.”

Golden Tempo is a sixth-generation Phipps homebred out of the Grade 3 winner Carrumba, with his female line tracing to Reine-de-Course mare Lady Pitt. In victory, he became the 13th horse to win both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and took home the winner’s share of $1.2 million, boosting his bankroll to $4,633,000.