By B. Jason Brooks
As the Phipps family marks 100 years in Thoroughbred racing and breeding in 2026, Golden Tempo has already made history as their first dual-classic winner. That distinction is especially meaningful given the family’s extraordinary record: eight Hall of Famers, 29 champions, three Triple Crown race winners before Golden Tempo, eight Breeders’ Cup winners, and more than 300 stakes winners.
Despite all that shiny hardware in the Phipps family’s trophy collection, Golden Tempo could break new ground as their first Breeders’ Cup Classic winner. Bred and campaigned in partnership with Vinnie and Teresa Viola’s St. Elias Stable, he would give the Violas their second Classic victory, following their 2019 success with Vino Rosso, campaigned with Repole Stable. Thoroughbred Racing Commentary currently ranks St. Elias Stable second among U.S.-based owners for stakes results over the last three years.
Two Ogden Phipps homebreds had memorable runner-up finishes in the Classic: third-generation homebred Seeking the Gold in 1988 and fourth-generation homebred Easy Goer in 1989, both 3-year-olds trained by Hall of Famer Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey and ridden by fellow Hall of Famer Pat Day.
A son of Claiborne Farm sire Mr. Prospector out of the Buckpasser mare Con Game, Seeking the Gold entered the 1988 Classic with a career record of seven wins and four runner-up finishes from a dozen starts, with his 3-year-old campaign including grade 1 victories in the Dwyer Stakes (G1) in July and the Super Derby (G1) in September. He also engaged in memorable stretch battles that year with Forty Niner, also by Mr. Prospector, finishing a nose behind his rival in both the Haskell Invitational (G1) in late July and Travers Stakes (G1) in late August.
Contested over a muddy Churchill Downs track, the 1988 Classic saw Seeking the Gold break from post eight in a nine-horse field. Among the contenders were 4-year-old and future Hall of Famer Alysheba (Alydar), reigning champion 2-year-old male Forty Niner (Mr. Prospector), Belmont Stakes runner-up and third-place Preakness finisher Cryptoclearance (Fappiano), and fellow Ogden Phipps homebred Personal Flag (Private Account), already a dual Grade 1 winner.
Seeking the Gold went five wide around the far turn and into the stretch. He closed resolutely to within a head of Alysheba, appearing poised to overtake the older colt, but the eventual Horse of the Year dug in to prevail by half a length.
He carried on the Mr. Prospector line as an influential stallion at Claiborne Farm, siring 91 stakes winners, including five champions and three Breeders’ Cup winners. His legacy continues through his daughters and through his brilliant son Dubai Millennium, sire of Dubawi.
For the Phippses, he sired Hall of Famer Heavenly Prize, 2005 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home, and 1998 Matron Stakes (G1) winner Oh What a Windfall. His daughter Matlacha Pass produced Point of Entry (Dynaformer), a five-time grade 1 winner of the Man o’ War Stakes (G1), Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (G1), and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (G1) in 2012, followed by the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1) and Manhattan Handicap (G1) in 2013.
In 1989, the Phipps-McGaughey-Day trio returned to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, this time with Easy Goer for his fourth and final meeting with his archrival Sunday Silence (Halo). Sunday Silence had defeated him by two and a half lengths in the Kentucky Derby and a nose in the Preakness, but Easy Goer denied him the Triple Crown with a memorable eight-length triumph in the Belmont Stakes, giving the Phippses their first victory in the “Test of the Champion.” Easy Goer finished the mile-and-a-half Belmont in 2:26, the second-fastest winning time behind only Secretariat’s 2:24 in 1973.
A son of Alydar out of the Buckpasser mare Relaxing, Easy Goer entered the Classic having defeated older horses in the Whitney Handicap (G1), Woodward Handicap (G1), and Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1). His stellar sophomore campaign had also included wins in the Wood Memorial Invitational Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1).
After a slow start in the Classic on a fast track at Gulfstream Park, Easy Goer settled well off the pace, ten lengths behind the leader entering the first turn, before advancing down the backstretch to draw close to Sunday Silence. His rival quickened around the far turn, opening a sizable advantage as Easy Goer struggled to match his acceleration. Once straightened for home, the Phipps colt unleashed a powerful rally, closing relentlessly on Sunday Silence but reaching the wire a neck shy of victory.
Easy Goer earned his ninth grade 1 victory the following year in the Suburban Handicap (G1) and retired with 14 victories and six placings from 20 career starts, earning nearly $5 million. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997.
His stud career at Claiborne Farm was cut short by his death at the age of eight in 1994. From just four crops, he sired nine stakes winners, including Will’s Way, winner of the 1996 Travers Stakes (G1) and 1997 Whitney Handicap (G1).
For the Phippses, Easy Goer sired My Flag out of undefeated Hall of Famer Personal Ensign (Private Account). My Flag won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), then added the Ashland Stakes (G1), Coaching Club American Oaks (G1), and Gazelle Handicap (G1) the following year, when she also finished third against colts in the Belmont Stakes (G1). As a broodmare, My Flag produced Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat), a maternal granddaughter of Easy Goer whose victory in the 2002 Juvenile Fillies (G1) completed an unprecedented sequence of Breeders’ Cup wins by three successive generations. Easy Goer also sired Phipps homebred Furlough, out of Blitey (Riva Ridge), winner of the 1999 Ballerina Handicap (G1).
Can Golden Tempo capture the Classic, a race that has eluded one of Thoroughbred racing’s most successful dynasties despite near misses by Seeking the Gold and Easy Goer? A victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic would be a Halloween treat for his connections – and a trick played on accomplished older challengers such as Godolphin’s reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty (Into Mischief), Susumu Fujita’s defending Classic winner Forever Young (JPN) (Real Steel {JPN}) and Winchell Thoroughbreds’ 2026 Dubai World Cup (G1). For the Phippses, it would be a fitting crowning achievement in their centennial year.
B. Jason Brooks is a Thoroughbred racing and pedigree researcher, writer, and social media manager based in Saratoga Springs, New York. He can be followed on X at @bjbrooksNY.
