{"id":28548,"date":"2026-06-08T17:46:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=28548"},"modified":"2026-06-08T17:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:46:18","slug":"golden-tempo-did-it-again-from-12-lengths-back-to-belmont-glory-he-just-turned-another-impossible-comeback-into-history-%f0%9f%8f%87%f0%9f%94%a5five-weeks-after-storming-from-last-to-first-in-the-ke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/?p=28548","title":{"rendered":"GOLDEN TEMPO DID IT AGAIN FROM 12 LENGTHS BACK TO BELMONT GLORY, HE JUST TURNED ANOTHER IMPOSSIBLE COMEBACK INTO HISTORY. \ud83c\udfc7\ud83d\udd25Five weeks after storming from last to first in the Kentucky Derby, Golden Tempo walked into the 2026 Belmont Stakes with one question hanging over him: Was the Derby magic real? Then he answered it in the stretch."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Golden Tempo wins 2026 Belmont Stakes with another late comeback<\/h1>\n

Golden Tempo showed exactly why he is a great closer, and his stretch run at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday delivered more history for trainer Cherie DeVaux.<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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Ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz from 12 lengths off the lead, Golden Tempo surged from the back of the pack to win the\u00a0158th rendition of the race. The victory came five weeks after his last-to-first charge to\u00a0win the Kentucky Derby.<\/p>\n

\u201cGolden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,\u201d said DeVaux. \u201cI think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top 3-year-olds.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Golden Tempo held off Commandment to win by a length and a quarter at odds of 6-1. Commandment was second and favorite Renegade placed third.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI followed them closely in the second turn,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cThey started to pick it up, so I did as well. I was just waiting for the right time to go all in. When I asked him to go, my horse responded.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

DeVaux, after\u00a0becoming the first woman\u00a0to train a Kentucky Derby winner, is the second in four years to do so at the Belmont.\u00a0Jena Antonucci won it with\u00a0Arcangelo in 2023. DeVaux is the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s overwhelming,\u201d DeVaux said. \u201cAll the credit goes to Golden Tempo, who won the race, and Jose did a wonderful job of making it happen. But I\u2019m just so fortunate to be in this position. It\u2019s history-making, and I\u2019ve kind of shied away from it, but I\u2019m really grateful that I am that person.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Golden4<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Golden Tempo (9) with Jockey Jose Ortiz leads the way to the finish line to win the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DeVaux was\u00a0born in Saratoga Springs and began\u00a0her training career there, but she doesn\u2019t call herself a Saratoga native. She spends most of her time in Kentucky now and said she grew up in southern Florida. But after all the support she\u2019s received from the town, she has started to embrace it.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone is kind of calling me the hometown girl,\u201d DeVaux said. \u201cSo that\u2019s kind of fun. I\u2019m going to miss our appetizer (at) Saratoga, as we call it, the \u2018Bellatoga.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Tempo was the third choice in the race. There were concerns about whether he could pull off another big comeback win in a field that included Renegade. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse finished second to Golden Tempo by a neck in the Derby.<\/p>\n

The pace was not nearly as fast as it was at Churchill Downs, yet Golden Tempo still was able to close in time to win the 1 1\/4-mile race in 2:03.49. It didn\u2019t matter, as he was the best in the field of nine horses.<\/p>\n

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\"Golden4<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Golden Tempo (9) with Jockey Jose Ortiz crosses the finish line to win the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cWe all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn\u2019t one and he showed up today and won.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Tempo won two-thirds of the Triple Crown after DeVaux and owners\u00a0decided to bypass the Preakness. He is the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont after not running in the middle jewel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made our decision, and we won today and we\u2019re going to be happy about that,\u201d DeVaux said.<\/p>\n

This was the third and final time for the Belmont\u00a0at Saratoga\u00a0in upstate New York, while its traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island is getting\u00a0demolished and rebuilt. Run at 1 1\/4 miles because of the track at Saratoga, the race is set to\u00a0return to Belmont Park\u00a0next year when it will return to its traditional 1 1\/2-mile distance.<\/p>\n

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\"Trainer4<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Trainer Cherie DeVaux, right, greet Golden Tempo (9) and Jockey Jose Ortiz after they won the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so meaningful,\u201d DeVaux said. \u201dA lot of family here. Saratoga, it\u2019s been wonderful to have such a historic race here. \u2026 It\u2019s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show. Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade paid $2.52 to place.<\/p>\n

Ortiz followed Renegade, ridden by older brother Irad, just as he did in the Derby. It worked out just the same in the first Saturday in June as the first Saturday in May.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was bouncing a bit today, which made me very happy because I wanted him to be a little bit sharper today,\u201d Jose Ortiz said. \u201cYou can see him, he\u2019s very relaxed. He does what I ask him to do. That\u2019s the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Jockey4<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
Jockey Jose Ortiz holds up the August Belmont trophy after winning the 158th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race aboard Golden Tempo (9), Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Co-owner Vinnie Viola dedicated the race to his late friend Dominic DiPrisco, who died Wednesday at age 70. Viola prayed to DiPrisco Saturday morning, hoping for an extra push in the Belmont Stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you\u2019re in heaven, and I love you, and this race is for you,\u201d Viola said. \u201cIt means more than I can express in words right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes for the second time, nine years after his first aboard Tapwrit in 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just wanted him to get better and keep winning these kinds of races,\u201d Ortiz said. \u201cWe\u2019re very happy with him. It\u2019s all about him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Golden Tempo wins 2026 Belmont Stakes with another late comeback Golden Tempo showed exactly why he is a great closer, and his stretch run at the Belmont… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28549,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28548"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28548\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28550,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28548\/revisions\/28550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow24.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}