Watch: Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo too good in Belmont Stakes

You wouldn’t think a Kentucky Derby winner would have to produce another quality performance before earning the respect it is due, but the Cherie DeVaux trained Golden Tempo has now put all contrary arguments to bed with a hard fought, thoroughly deserved win in the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, to claim his rightful place in history.

Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby and just took the Belmont Stakes after resting during the Preakness!

Could’ve been a Triple Crown, but trainer Cherie DeVaux along with ownership made a smart call to prioritize the horse’s future.

Classy move. pic.twitter.com/okkBCNYLwR

— Nick (@nofiltersnick) June 7, 2026

Golden Tempo’s win in the Kentucky Derby was already historic with DeVaux becoming the first female trainer to land a Kentucky Derby win and the Ortiz brothers riding the big race quinella, but, in spite of that being a magnificent come from behind victory, there were those doubters who felt the race played into Golden Tempo’s hands … the strong early sectionals and loads of interference … which Golden Tempo avoided … feeding into that argument … an argument which continued to linger when DeVaux and Golden Tempo’s connections elected to bypass the Preakness Stakes (the second leg of the Triple Crown) to give their horse a reasonable break before tackling the Belmont Stakes.

That perceived doubt surrounding the true merit of Golden Tempo’s Derby win was reflected in the betting for the Belmont Stakes where the DeVaux trained runner only featured on the fourth line of betting at $6, behind Renegade the ($8-5 favourite), Chief Wallabee ($5), and Emerging Market ($5), who had all finished behind him in the Derby. Commandment, who had also finished behind Golden Tempo that day, was also a $6 chance.

Again taken to the back of the field by Jose Ortiz, this time with the early pace only being moderate, Golden Tempo raced some eight lengths off the lead down the back stretch, moved closer in the approach to the home turn and then unleashed all of five wide on straightening, with Commandment coming with him, racing hard to Golden Tempo’s outside.

Both of these runners, who were racing so close together they appeared to touch on occasions, sustained a powerful gallop in a pressurised finish all the way to the line with neither giving an inch until Golden Tempo asserted his authority in the final 50m to pull away to ultimately win with something in hand.

Again, that extreme fighting quality … that will to win … which was so much in evidence when Golden Tempo beat Renegade in the Kentucky Derby, was there for all to see and, this time, to fully appreciate Golden Tempo and recognise him for what he is … a truly special racehorse.

“People were right. He wasn’t going to get the setup as he did with the pace in the Derby. We all knew that,” said Ortiz. “and I was a little worried about that. You’d think he’d need some kind of setup (pace-wise), but, today there was none and he still showed up and won … so that makes him very dangerous for his rivals.

“I think he proved a point.”