For the first time since his rise to stardom in the spring, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Golden Tempo suffered a defeat when third, 2 1/4 lengths behind Leading Change and Napoleon Solo in the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
However, the son of Curlin still put in a solid effort to close from off the pace behind moderate fractions, and trainer Cherie DeVaux is willing to take that positive and move forward to the Oct. 31 $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland.
"He's an ultra-consistent horse, and he does show up every time," DeVaux said. "We all do this to win, but we have to think bigger picture. It obviously takes the wind out of your sails, but you can't be disappointed.
"He exited the race in good order and looks great, and we'll just keep marching on to the Breeders' Cup."
With Jose Ortiz aboard, the dual classic winner encountered some traffic in the stretch that kept him from finding a clear path to sustain his run after advancing on the rail around the far turn.
"He ran a better race than he's been running, actually, I think," DeVaux said. "Golden Tempo is just a horse that needs things to go his way and unfortunately got stuck down on the inside and got stopped a few times in his run. He's just a horse that needs some things to go in his favor, and when that is the case, it isn't always going to be a win."
Saturday's race was Golden Tempo's first start since the June 6 Belmont Stakes (G1). Following that victory, he developed an illness that knocked him out of training for about 10 days and caused him to miss an intended prep race in the Aug. 1 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) at Saratoga. After seeing the race he ran, DeVaux did not believe missing the prep did anything to the horse's fitness that caused the loss, saying it was more the unluckiness of the trip.
"I don't think the prep race was the issue; I think it was more the trip he got," DeVaux said. "It just was what happened; it was nobody's fault, it's just horse racing."
The DeVaux barn did manage to celebrate a few races earlier when C R K Stable's Englishman again rolled to an impressive top-level victory at Saratoga in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1). It marked his return from the June 6 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1), and DeVaux said he will likely head straight to the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
Both horses are set to depart for DeVaux's base at Keeneland Aug. 31.
"I don't know if it is for them, but it is for me," DeVaux said of there being an advantage to the Breeders' Cup being held at their home track. "Neither one have actually raced over the surface, but train really well and they will be out of their own stalls. There is no place like home, as they say."
Did Gate Antics, Poor Start Impact Renegade?
One horse with a more questionable immediate future would be Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low's Renegade, who uncharacteristically failed to fire and finished eighth, 10 3/4 lengths behind.
The whole experience seemed off for Renegade, who surprised his Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher by being fractious in the starting gate. Once settled and the gate opened, he hopped in the air and, three jumps later, had Ocelli shoved into his outside by Sea Strike.
"I was hoping they would maybe back him out and let him catch his breath," Pletcher said of the gate antics. "But when he broke he went (up) instead of (forward), and then the six (Ocelli) creamed him and got further back. He was never able to really recover from that, never put in the same run, never got outside in the clear."
Pletcher said he asked head starter Scott Jordan whether or not they considered backing the son of Into Mischief out of the gate after his antics and that Jordan said they did, but that jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who replaced the injured Irad Ortiz Jr., said he was okay to go.
"I think Tyler, when he (Renegade) did that, got kind of twisted. It took him a minute to recover," Pletcher said. "I talked to Scott Jordan and asked him if they thought about backing him out. He said he did. He asked Tyler, 'Are you okay?' and Tyler hesitated for a minute and then said yes. But it's uncharacteristic for him to misbehave in the gate."
Despite the early bumping and failure to fire, Pletcher said Renegade emerged from the race in good physical shape. Pletcher will speak with co-owner Mike Repole and the Lows about next steps with the colt, but said it seems likely the Arkansas Derby (G1) winner, who was second in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes, will race in 2027.
"As far as I know, the plan is, as long as he's healthy, to run next year," Pletcher said. "Whatever decision goes into it, we'll obviously have next year in mind."
Pletcher-trained Ted Noffey, Spendthrift Farm's 2-year-old champion of 2025, was on the worktab Saturday morning with a half-mile move in :48.42. Pletcher said the Into Mischief colt is coming along nicely and could start in October.
Plans for Ocelli Undecided
Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate, Ribble Farms, Hoolie Racing Stable, and Kamp Racing Stables' Ocelli emerged from the incident at the Travers start with a "pretty good cut" on the inside of his right front leg, but otherwise trainer Whit Beckman did not see any physical issues that could have led to his 22 3/4-length defeat when finishing ninth.
"He was traveling great down the backside, but as soon as he switched to his inside lead he just kind of idled and didn't really move forward," Beckman said. "If it was a physical issue, nothing is really jumping off the page now. If something does come up in the next couple days, we'll address that and make decisions, but right now just let him come out."
The richest maiden in history has raced through a tough campaign that included a third-place finish in the Wood Memorial (G2) and Kentucky Derby, a fourth-place finish in the Preakness Stakes (G1), and a runner-up effort in the Ohio Derby (G3). However, his ninth-place finish in the Travers followed a distant last-of-seven in the Haskell Stakes (G1) over a sloppy sealed track.
Beckman said the next few weeks will be telling about what options they choose for the son of Connect, whether that be a return to maiden company, a stakes, or time off.
"We'll let him kind of thaw out from this and then start making a decision whether or not he wants to go in a month back to a maiden, or we want to give him a couple months," Beckman said. "I'm not going to worry about it right now. I'm just going to let the next couple weeks inform our path."
