Golden Tempo Skips the Jim Dandy to Chase Travers History
Golden Tempo will not be in the Jim Dandy Stakes field at Saratoga this weekend, and the absence tells a bigger story than a typical prep race pass. The Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner has spent the last month rebuilding after an illness cost him training time and forced Cherie DeVaux to scrap the original plan. What is left is a direct run at the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on August 29, off a twelve week layoff, chasing a feat only two horses have managed in more than two decades.
A Neck in the Derby, a Length and a Quarter in the Belmont
Golden Tempo went off at 23/1 in the 152nd Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs, a price that reflected a résumé with more questions than answers. He won his first two starts for Cherie DeVaux and Jose Ortiz, a last to first debut at Fair Grounds on December 20, then the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes by three quarters of a length on January 17. Two subsequent thirds followed, in the Risen Star and then the Louisiana Derby behind Pavlovian and Emerging Market, form that left him a longshot heading into Louisville.
Ortiz sent him from off the pace anyway, and Golden Tempo ran down the field to beat Renegade by a neck in a final time of 2:02.27. It made DeVaux the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.
Connections skipped the Preakness, a call that looked conservative until Golden Tempo lined up for the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga and did the same thing again. He broke awkwardly from post 9, settled last, and circled the field to win by a length and a quarter over Commandment, with Renegade third. The final time was 2:03.49 for the mile and a quarter, and Golden Tempo paid $14.00 to win at 6/1. It made DeVaux only the second female trainer to win the Belmont, after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in 2023.
The Illness That Cost Him the Jim Dandy
The plan after the Belmont pointed at the Jim Dandy Stakes on August 1, then the Travers on August 29, the conventional route for a classic winner staying in training through the summer. That plan changed when DeVaux noticed Golden Tempo showing signs of a mild respiratory illness during training this summer. She caught it early enough that it never became serious, but Golden Tempo still lost close to ten days of work and any realistic shot at making the Jim Dandy.
“When he was sick, he did lose some weight and did lose some condition, but as soon as he started back galloping, he looked fantastic and gained any weight that he lost back and is not too heavy,” DeVaux said.
He got back on track slowly. His first timed workout since the setback came on July 17 at Keeneland. His second came July 26 at Saratoga, a half mile in 48.65 seconds alongside stablemate Being Myself, continuing through six furlongs in 1:14.34 and seven in 1:28.12 with Ortiz aboard in blinkers. “I’m really pleased with his work, had a really nice gallop out and came back and looked good,” DeVaux said. “I just think we need to tighten the screws a little bit going into the Travers.”
Only Two Horses Have Done What Golden Tempo Is Attempting
Winning the Belmont Stakes and then the Travers without a race in between is rare for a reason. Only Birdstone in 2004 and Arcangelo in 2023 have done it in the last 22 years. Golden Tempo would be the third.
DeVaux does not pretend the layoff makes it easy. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge,” she said. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do and responded well, trains well, very agreeable to what we asked him to do. As far as that aspect of it, he’s got that in his favor.” Twelve weeks between the Belmont and the Travers is a long window to ask a three year old to hold form over a mile and a quarter, with no race in between to sharpen him for it.
Cherie DeVaux and a Season of Firsts
Golden Tempo has already made his trainer’s career. DeVaux became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby on May 2, then the second female trainer to win the Belmont Stakes five weeks later, matching a feat only Jena Antonucci had managed before her. A Travers win would put Golden Tempo alongside Birdstone and Arcangelo as the only horses in 22 years to complete the Belmont Travers double without a race between them.
The pedigree backs the résumé. Golden Tempo is a bay colt by Curlin, the Hall of Fame sire and two time Horse of the Year, out of the winning mare Carrumba. Phipps Stable bred him and owns him in partnership with Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stables.
Golden Tempo 2026 Season Form
| Date | Race | Track | Distance | Finish | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2025 | Maiden Special Weight | Fair Grounds | 6 furlongs | 1st | Won by 1 1/2 lengths |
| Jan 17, 2026 | Lecomte Stakes (G3) | Fair Grounds | 1 1/16 miles | 1st | Won by 3/4 length |
| Feb 14, 2026 | Risen Star Stakes (G2) | Fair Grounds | 1 1/16 miles | 3rd | Beaten 6 lengths |
| Mar 21, 2026 | Louisiana Derby (G2) | Fair Grounds | 1 1/8 miles | 3rd | Behind Pavlovian, Emerging Market |
| May 2, 2026 | Kentucky Derby (G1) | Churchill Downs | 1 1/4 miles | 1st | Won by a neck, 23/1 |
| Jun 6, 2026 | Belmont Stakes (G1) | Saratoga | 1 1/4 miles | 1st | Won by 1 1/4 lengths, 6/1 |
| Aug 29, 2026 | Travers Stakes (G1) | Saratoga | 1 1/4 miles | Next start | Off a twelve week layoff |
What the Jim Dandy and Travers Fields Could Look Like
Golden Tempo’s absence leaves the Jim Dandy Stakes to Commandment, Renegade and Chip Honcho, three horses who know exactly how it feels to finish behind him. Commandment was runner up to Golden Tempo in the Belmont. Renegade was second in the Derby and third in the Belmont. Whoever wins Saturday arrives at the Travers on August 29 with recent form and a prep race in the legs, the two things Golden Tempo will not have.
That gap is the entire story of the Travers before it is even run. A fresh, talented horse carrying the two biggest wins of the year against a field that raced and trained straight through the summer. DeVaux is confident the layoff will work in her horse’s favor rather than against it. Saratoga will find out on August 29.
Bet Golden Tempo’s Road to the Travers
Golden Tempo will not run again until the Travers Stakes on August 29 at Saratoga, but the buildup is worth following now. His workouts will keep coming through August, and every one of them will move the line on a horse already carrying Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes form into the biggest race of his career.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Golden Tempo missed close to ten days of training this summer after showing signs of a mild respiratory illness. Trainer Cherie DeVaux caught it early and it never became serious, but it cost him the buildup he needed for the August 1 Jim Dandy, so his connections are pointing him straight to the Travers Stakes on August 29 instead.
Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby by a neck over Renegade in a time of 2:02.27, skipped the Preakness, then won the Belmont Stakes by a length and a quarter over Commandment in 2:03.49. He is unbeaten in his two Triple Crown starts.
Cherie DeVaux is the trainer who saddled Golden Tempo to become the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. Five weeks later she became only the second female trainer to win the Belmont Stakes, after Jena Antonucci won with Arcangelo in 2023.
Only Birdstone in 2004 and Arcangelo in 2023 have won the Belmont Stakes and then won the Travers without running in between over the last 22 years. Golden Tempo is attempting to become the third.
Golden Tempo is targeting the Grade 1, $1.25 million Travers Stakes on August 29 at Saratoga Race Course, a mile and a quarter for three year olds.
