Story by B. Jason Brooks / Photo courtesy of Janet Napolitano
In the centennial year of the Phipps family’s illustrious Thoroughbred breeding and racing dynasty, the iconic stable celebrated its first homebred dual classic winner as Golden Tempo captured the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
The sixth-generation Phipps-bred colt broke sharply from the outside post 9 but veered outward and bobbled after making contact with the gate. Jockey Jose Ortiz guided him toward the inside to save ground, settling Golden Tempo at the rear of the nine-horse field before launching his bid around the far turn.
Unlike the Kentucky Derby, in which a fast early pace helped set the stage for Golden Tempo’s last-to-first rally, the Belmont unfolded through moderate fractions of 23.96, 48.29 and 1:12.38. The slower tempo presented a much different challenge for the deep-closing colt, but the result was the same.
Ortiz brought Golden Tempo outside approaching the stretch, and the colt again produced his powerful, sustained rally. Splitting rivals in the lane, he drew clear to defeat Wathnan Racing’s Commandment (Into Mischief) by a length and a quarter, clocking in at 2:03.49 for the mile and a quarter race.
Due to the reconstruction of Belmont Park, the race was held at Saratoga where going the traditional mile and a half for the “Test of the Champion” wasn’t possible based on the layout and distance of the track. Golden Tempo’s margin of victory may very well have been even larger had the race been ran going the traditional mile and a half at Belmont. His pedigree also supports the notion that he could excel at longer distances.
Becoming a dual Classic winner is an extraordinary achievement in itself. Becoming the first to carry that distinction for the Phipps family is even more significant when one considers the legendary horses produced and campaigned by the family over the past century. They include Hall of Famers Seabiscuit and Buckpasser, 1957 Preakness Stakes winner Bold Ruler, 1989 Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer, and 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb. Golden Tempo’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont victories bring the Phipps family’s total number of U.S. male classics to five.
When the family’s victories by fillies and the European classics are included, Golden Tempo’s Belmont triumph represents the Phippses’ 13th classic victory. For the complete list, see the Phipps Stable Blog story, “Golden Tempo Delivers the Phippses a Second Derby Win and 12th Classic Win.”
Golden Tempo’s victory also returned the Phipps family to the Belmont winner’s circle for the first time in 37 years, since Easy Goer’s memorable victory in 1989.
For Golden Tempo’s co-breeders and co-owners, Vinnie and Teresa Viola’s St. Elias Stable, the Belmont represented a third classic victory. St. Elias previously campaigned 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) in partnership and shared in Golden Tempo’s victories in this year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Golden Tempo became the second consecutive non–Triple Crown winner to capture both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, following Godolphin’s Sovereignty (Into Mischief). Sovereignty completed the Derby-Belmont double in 2025, added the grade 1 Travers Stakes, and went on to be named Eclipse champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year.
Including the 13 Triple Crown champions, Golden Tempo is the 26th horse in history to win both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. And, he is the 13th to accomplish the double without sweeping all three Triple Crown races.
Much was made of the connections’ decision to rest Golden Tempo rather than go for the Triple Crown. Despite the temptation to join the legends who have accomplished racing’s most coveted feat, Golden Tempo’s connections determined that the two-week turnaround between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes was in the colt’s best interest. Also, trainer Cherie DeVaux has noted that she had never brought a horse back on such short rest during her career. Not surprisingly, the results of this year’s Preakness offered support for that cautious approach: none of the three horses returning from the Kentucky Derby finished among the first three in the Preakness.
Golden Tempo became the third Derby winner in five years to bypass the Preakness, following Rich Strike in 2022 and Sovereignty in 2025. More importantly, he arrived at Saratoga ready to reproduce his Derby-winning performance—and to erase any suggestion that his victory at Churchill Downs had resulted merely from a favorable pace scenario.
The Belmont also extended DeVaux’s place in racing history. After becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, the Saratoga Springs native became the first woman to train the winner of two American Triple Crown races.
Golden Tempo will now return to Keeneland to begin preparing for the grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes, scheduled for August 1 at Saratoga. Beyond that awaits the grade 1 Travers Stakes over the same track and distance as his Belmont triumph—and another opportunity for the Phipps family’s first dual classic winner to add to his historic season.
B. Jason Brooks is a Thoroughbred racing and pedigree researcher, writer, and social media manager residing in Saratoga Springs, New York, and can be followed on X at @bjbrooksNY.
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