Golden Tempo looks to add Grade 1 DraftKings Travers to stellar campaign

By Christian Abdo —-

Golden Tempo; NYRA Photo
Golden Tempo looks to add Grade 1 DraftKings Travers to stellar campaign

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s dual Classic winner Golden Tempo will look to further cement his place atop the sophomore division in Saturday’s Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers, a 10-furlong test for 3-year-olds, at Saratoga Race Course.

The 157th renewal of the DraftKings Travers [Race 13, approx. 6:35 p.m. Eastern] is one of five Grade 1s scheduled for Saturday’s 14-race program, including the $500,000 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in Race 8 and three top-level Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” qualifiers with the Personal Ensign [Distaff] in Race 9, the Forego [Dirt Mile] in Race 11 and the Resorts World Casino Ballerina [Filly and Mare Sprint] in Race 12. The card is supported by the Grade 2 Lake Placid in Race 10.

The DraftKings Travers will be showcased live on FOX as part of a two-hour edition of FOX Saratoga Saturday presented by Oceania Cruises from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. First post on Saturday’s card is 11:05 a.m. with gates opening to the public at 9 a.m.

Trained by Cherie DeVaux, Golden Tempo needs little introduction at this point entering from last-to-first wins going 10 furlongs in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs and Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets last out on June 6 here.

In the Kentucky Derby, the Curlin bay rallied from 17 lengths back in last-of-18 to edge returning rival Renegade by a neck, also defeating fellow Travers contenders Ocelli [3rd] and Emerging Market [10th].

“He is so classy, he is so professional. He’s been like that his entire life,” DeVaux said. “He’s a horse who just continues to improve and continues to mature and change. They do a lot of that up until their 4-year-old year, and he’s just continuing in that trend. That’s why each race we’re hoping he’s going to continue to improve, which he has done so far.”

Golden Tempo validated the Derby effort in the Belmont, rallying from six lengths back in last-of-9 to defeat Commandment by 1 1/4 lengths, with Renegade third and Emerging Market fifth.

“I have great respect for Renegade. I feel like they are all rivals when you are the favorite. Everybody is out to get you, so I think it will be interesting,” said DeVaux. “I have always said this race is a bit different than the other races because horses do a lot of maturing throughout the summer, colts especially, so it will be interesting to see how they both perform. And we have new horses in the race, too, and they weren’t part of the conversation during Belmont week.”

After a brief illness later in June forced Golden Tempo to miss training, his connections decided to bypass the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on August 1 and train up to the Travers. He has recorded five breezes over the Spa main track, including a final half-mile in 49.66 seconds on August 22 in company with usual workmate Paige Turner.

“He didn’t really miss that much training,” DeVaux said. “It could’ve been a lot longer, but he didn’t miss an amount that would really make a difference in his fitness overall.”

Golden Tempo [post 9, Jose Ortiz, 5-2 ML favorite] will again be piloted by Jose Ortiz, who has been aboard for each start of his 6-4-0-2 record. Ortiz, currently atop the Saratoga jockey standings, seeks his first Travers victory.

Repole Stable, and Robert and Lawana Low’s Renegade [post 5, Tyler Gaffalione, 3-1 ML] rebounded from his third in the Belmont to post a half-length score over Commandment and Travers contender Silent Tactic in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun on August 1 here. Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the Into Mischief bay rallied from 11 lengths back to notch his first victory since the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in March at Oaklawn Park.

“He’s very professional and he’s good-feeling and always manageable,” Pletcher said. “I think he’s kind of got his running style figured out– settle and make that explosive move late. He’s pretty uncomplicated. He’s been able to do it in all kinds of scenarios, so we’re not looking to change anything. He’s been in peak form the past couple of weeks and he acts to me like he’s sitting on a big race.”

Pletcher has won the Travers three times, all with Jim Dandy victors, including Flower Alley in 2005, Stay Thirsty in 2011 and Fierceness in 2024; the latter two owned by Repole Stable.

“He’s shown good energy and his appetite has been great [since the Jim Dandy],” Pletcher said. “He’s been training enthusiastically and it seems like he’s thriving. I’m very happy with him.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione picks up the mount from Renegade’s regular rider Irad Ortiz, Jr., who is sidelined with a foot injury that occurred on August 8 Whitney Day here.

Espoir USA’s Napoleon Solo [post 3, John Velazquez, 8-1 ML], the Grade 1 Preakness winner, was a half-length second to Travers foe Baby Vino last out in the nine-furlong Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell on July 18 at Monmouth Park. Trained by Chad Summers, the Liam’s Map gray led through three-quarters in 1:12.02 over the sloppy and sealed footing, before Baby Vino launched an early inside bid, the pair dueling to the wire, and the 28-1 longshot coming out on top and surviving a stewards’ inquiry into the stretch run.

“This is the deepest Travers we’ve seen in a long time,” Summers said. “Obviously, Golden Tempo is the favorite for the 3-year-old championship, but he’s never run against us before. So, we’ll see what happens in the race.”

Napoleon Solo was a prominent 1 1/4-length winner of the 1 3/16-mile Preakness in May at Laurel Park. He was fifth in a pair of Grade 2-level Kentucky Derby preps prior to that, following a 2-for-2 juvenile campaign that featured a one-turn mile Grade 1 Champagne trouncing in October at Belmont at the Big A.

Delta Squad Racing, HRH Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Cosmo Stables’ Baby Vino [post 8, Paco Lopez, 10-1 ML] will look to build upon his Haskell upset for trainer Lindsay Schultz.

“He showed another level, really,” Schultz said. “We thought he belonged but he’d never been tested anywhere close to a group like that. We talked about the possibility of a wet track that none of them had really run on before…maybe he liked it more than some of the others, but it was a solid field and he ran right with them. When he got down to running, he wasn’t going to stop even if it wasn’t the perfect circumstance.”

The Vino Rosso bay has won three consecutive races, including a graduation in May at Oaklawn in his fifth of five outings there, ahead of a 10 3/4-length romp of the Listed NYRA Bets Pegasus in June at Monmouth.

“I was so excited to see that,” said Schultz. “He had shown us in the mornings and in his races that he’s a talented horse, but at Oaklawn every race he got into trouble – he clipped heels, he’d get stopped and have to make three runs during the race. For him, to just run around there and run away from them was amazing. Things don’t normally work out like that. I didn’t expect him to win by that much, but it was nice to see him get such a straightforward trip.”

Dual Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, who won the 2021 Travers with Essential Quality, will send out Wathnan Racing’s Leading Change [post 2, Manny Franco, 12-1 ML]. The Gun Runner bay is the least experienced member of the field, dominating by 6 1/2 lengths when debuting in June at Churchill Downs ahead of a neck score in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 3 Indiana Derby in July at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“We think he’s a big time horse,” Cox said. “Obviously, he lacks seasoning, but is a very talented horse with a great mind. Big time pedigree. We are excited about what he’s shown us. He’s always acted like a good horse and hopefully we can be a player in the Travers.”

Leading Change, out of the winning Congrats mare Starship Warspeed, is a half-brother to Shedaresthedevil, the Cox-trained Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner in 2020.

Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown sends out Sea Strike [post 7, Flavien Prat, 5-1 ML] and Emerging Market [post 1, Ricardo Santana, Jr., 15-1 ML] in pursuit of his first Travers victory.

Flanagan Racing’s Sea Strike has won 2-of-3 starts, most recently taking the nine-furlong restricted Listed Curlin presented by Casamigos by 8 1/4 lengths on August 2 here and earning a field-best 102 Beyer Speed Figure. The Midshipman chestnut was previously a better-than-it-looks fifth versus allowance elders sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs in June here, with the victorious Buttah and third-place Local Knowledge exiting to win local stakes.

“He is a lightly-raced horse and we’ll see if we can get another eighth of a mile out of him at the mile and a quarter and see how he does. On figures, it looks like he fits,” Brown said.

Klaravich Stable’s Emerging Market won his first two starts, including the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby in March at Fair Grounds Race Course, where Golden Tempo was third in his lone defeat to a Travers contender.

Emerging Market then finished 10th in the Kentucky Derby and fifth in the Belmont. The Candy Ride chestnut enters from a runner-up finish against elders in a nine-furlong optional claimer on July 25 here.

“He was kind of in a slow pace last out,” Brown said. “He was in the back and wide, and it just didn’t really set up for him. He was able to run second and ran a good figure in the race, so I’m going to give him another try.”

Dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse will saddle John Oxley and Victoriam Farm’s Silent Tactic [post 10, Luis Saez, 10-1 ML], who returned from a four-month layoff to finish 2 1/2 lengths back of Renegade when third in the Jim Dandy. The Tacitus bay was scratched from the Kentucky Derby with a bruised foot and made his first start last out since a second to Renegade in the Arkansas Derby.

“He’s really happy now. He’s doing well. There was no way he could have been 100 percent for the Jim Dandy. I would say he was probably 90 percent,” Casse said. “If he can move up five percent or so, it’s going to put him in the mix. I’m excited to watch him run. He breezes like a $25,000 claimer, he always has, but he runs like a Grade 1 horse.”

Confidence in Silent Tactic was evident earlier this month when Victoriam Farm purchased a 50-percent ownership interest in the colt for $1.5 million through a Fasig-Tipton Digital Flash Sale.

“It can’t be any tougher,” Casse said of the field. “Of course, you’re bringing the Kentucky Derby winner in, but they’re all about the same category, give or take a little. And he’s right there with them. We just need a good trip.”

OGMA Investments, JR Ranch, High Step Racing, TCC Stables and YNG Stables’ The Puma [post 4, Javier Castellano, 8-1 ML] also makes his second start off the bench for trainer Gustavo Delgado.

The Essential Quality chestnut finished a nose behind Commandment when second in the Florida Derby before scratching from the Kentucky Derby with leg swelling from a skin infection. He returned from the nearly four-month layoff to finish fourth beaten 4 1/4 lengths in the Haskell.

“He likes the [Saratoga] track,” Delgado said. “The race is strong. They are good horses. It is a little different when you put 20 horses [in the Kentucky Derby], only five are good, and 15 are not good – this is [nine other] horses, all are good, all the best.”

Record seven-time Travers-winning Hall of Famer Javier Castellano has the call. His wins include Bernardini [2006, odds-on favorite], Afleet Express [2010, 7-1], Stay Thirsty [2011, 2.4-1 favorite], V. E. Day [2014, 8-1], Keen Ice [2015, 16-1], Catholic Boy [2018, 7-1] and Arcangelo [2023, 2.7-1].

Trainer Whit Beckman rounds out the field with the 10-start maiden Ocelli [post 6, Edgard Zayas, 20-1 ML], who has competed exclusively in stakes company in his past seven outings. He is owned by Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate, Ribble Farms, Hoolie Racing Stable and Kamp Racing Stables.

The Connect bay came close to a breakthrough when finishing third at odds of 70-1 behind Golden Tempo and Renegade in the Kentucky Derby. He followed with a fourth in the Preakness and a runner-up finish in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby before landing seventh in the Haskell last out.

“It’s the Travers, it’s the biggest race of the summer. There’s a lot that’s attractive about it. We’re already here and training on the track,” Beckman said. “It does look like there’s some speed in there, but it looked like that in a couple other races and never really panned out. We hope it plays out the way it looks on paper.”

There has been one maiden winner of the Travers: D’Artagnan in 1875. The race was 1 3/4 miles at the time and it was the horse’s only career win.

Saratoga Live presents daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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