Belmont Stakes Hopefuls Breeze, Led by Golden Tempo

Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's homebred Golden Tempo, winner of the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, breezed 5 furlongs in 1:00 1/5 May 23 under jockey Jose Ortiz over a drying-out good track at Keeneland in preparation for the June 6 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The workout was the second of three planned breezes at the Lexington track, the primary base for trainer Cherie DeVaux, before Golden Tempo heads to New York for the third and final leg of the Triple Crown. He skipped the second leg of the series, the May 16 Preakness Stakes (G1), to await the Belmont three weeks later, becoming the third healthy winner of the Derby to do so since 2022. The workout originally was planned for May 22 but was postponed because of sloppy track conditions after steady rains in the area. Breezing in company with stakes-placed 4-year-old So Sandy at 9 a.m. ET after the second track renovation period, Golden Tempo produced fractions of :12, :23 2/5, :35 1/5, and :47 4/5, before galloping out 6 furlongs in 1:13 2/5 and 7 furlongs in 1:27 2/5. "Really pleased with his work this morning," DeVaux said. "Jose was aboard, and from both what he felt and what I saw, Golden Tempo looks to be in good shape to have another big race and take another step forward. "We're hoping to breeze back next week with a maintenance work on Friday and then ship to New York on Saturday." The day after his last-to-first rally to win the Kentucky Derby by a neck, Golden Tempo returned to DeVaux's barn at Keeneland, located with other stables away from the main facility on Rice Road. Golden Tempo was back on the work tab May 15, the day before the Preakness, with a time of :48 3/5 for 4 furlongs. Golden Tempo, a son of Curlin, has won three races in five starts and has earned $3,433,000. At the beginning of 2026, he was stabled at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, where he won the Jan. 17 Lecomte Stakes (G3) and was third in both the Feb. 14 Risen Star Stakes (G2) and the March 21 Louisiana Derby (G2). A large field is anticipated for the Belmont, with Kentucky Derby runner-up and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Renegade leading the opposition. Other contenders for the race include Chief Wallabee, Commandment, Emerging Market, Powershift, Ottinho, and Growth Equity. This marks the third straight year the Belmont Stakes will be contested at Saratoga because of ongoing reconstruction at Belmont Park. It will be run at 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga, not at its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance, because of the course configuration at Saratoga. Others Breeze at Saratoga, Belmont Park The trio of Emerging Market, Ottinho, and Growth Equity trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown and the grade 1-placed Chief Wallabee for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott also worked Saturday across Saratoga Race Course and Belmont Park in preparation for the Belmont. The pair of Ottinho and Growth Equity worked in company over the Belmont Park dirt training track, covering a half-mile in :49.95. Meanwhile, 200 miles north, Emerging Market breezed the same distance in :49.96 over the Oklahoma training track in company with sophomore maiden Hadrian's Wall. Three Chimneys Farm's Kentucky homebred Ottinho, last seen finishing a distant second in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) April 4 at Keeneland, posted his fifth work since that effort. Klaravich Stables' Growth Equity propelled himself onto the list of Belmont Stakes probables with a 2-length win in the 1 1/8-mile Peter Pan Stakes (G3) May 9 at Aqueduct Racetrack, where he made his first start against winners. Ottinho had a foot issue following the Blue Grass, but Brown said a special shoe has helped him in his training since. "He had a crack in the sole of his foot, in a weird spot, and he's been training with a bar shoe," Brown said. "He's likely not to run in it (the bar shoe), and I think I can get him out of it by race day. He's doing great in it, and he's really picked it up between the last two weeks." Brown was noncommittal about the Belmont Stakes for Growth Equity following his Peter Pan score, but said he has warmed to the idea after reviewing his pedigree and the performance figures of the son of Nyquist. "At the end of the day, he's by a Derby winner, he's handled the mile and an eighth the right way, his figures keep getting faster every race the further I run him," Brown added. "He's fresh, he's in good form, and if he drew a cozy post towards the inside and got a ground-saving trip in there, he's very handy. I'm leaning towards running the horse." At Saratoga, Brown looked on as Klaravich Stables' Louisiana Derby winner Emerging Market breezed for the second time since an even 10th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby after losing a shoe in the race. Brown's Saratoga work tab was a busy one and included another solo move from Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Always a Runner, who covered a half-mile in :49.85 as she points to the Acorn Stakes (G1) June 5 during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. Brown sent out dual grade 1 winner Zulu Kingdom (IRE) for his second work since winning the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) April 10 at Keeneland. He covered a half-mile in :50.25, with Brown noting he is "50/50" for the $300,000 Poker Stakes (G3T) June 7. Brown added that Salamis, away from the races since his win in the Hollywood Derby (G1T) Nov. 29 at Del Mar, is also possible for the Poker. He worked Saturday over the Oklahoma in :49.95. From the barn of Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Belmont Stakes hopeful Chief Wallabee worked in company with Gilded Bandit, who broke behind him and was a few lengths back as Chief Wallabee completed five-eighths in 1:00.80. Gilded Bandit was clocked a half-mile in :48 "I thought he went very well—he was smooth, and they went off fast enough, 12 and change and came home well enough," Mott said of Chief Wallabee. "We worked him out to the seven-eighths pole. That was fast enough for him." Mike and Katherine Ball's Kentucky homebred Chief Wallabee will look to give Mott a Belmont Stakes double after taking last year's edition with subsequent Horse of the Year Sovereignty, who also worked a half-mile in :48.92 Saturday