Photograph: Hodges Images / Lou Hodges Jr.
golden time Comes from final place to win Grade 3 and $250,000 Leconte Stakes On the fairgrounds, he defeated stablemate Mesquite by lower than a size. The homebred horse from coach Shelley Devaux’s Phipps and St. Elias stables earned 20 factors on the street to the Kentucky Derby.
The horse was blessed with pace all through the cardboard, amplifying Golden Tempo’s last kick because the stallion Curlin ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.98 underneath jockey Jose Ortiz.
“Generally riders’ fingers are tied,” Ortiz mentioned. “I knew that horse was forward, however if in case you have a horse like him and also you don’t have that early pace, what are you able to do?”
Clown the Buckeye took the lead with a primary half of 23.72 seconds and 47.11 seconds, then Golden Tempo broke the sluggish tempo with Carson Road and Chip Honcho in sizzling pursuit. After shifting midpack alongside the rail early on, Mesquite discovered himself in a large place on the backstretch. Nonetheless heading into the far flip final, Golden Tempo instantly started to overhaul his rivals across the bend after which discovered a spot on the rail. When Carson Road and Chip Honcho outbid a light Crown the Buckeye within the center, Golden Tempo and Mesquite surged as much as flank the pair, however Golden Tempo moved to the entrance first. Mesquite nailed Carson Road by the neck. Chip Honcho moved into fourth, and High quality Mischief made a comeback within the last phases to take fifth.
“When Jose began selecting him up, I used to be a bit of frightened that he was inexperienced and that he was beginning to transfer inside,” DeVoe mentioned. “He sputtered a bit of bit, however then he received again on monitor.”
Golden Tempo entered Lecomte Racecourse with one-race expertise and equally gained his six-furlong debut on the undercard of the Gun Runner Stakes in December.
“The horse broke off a bit of bit extra slowly, similar to the primary time,” Ortiz mentioned. “I used to be affected person. I adopted Mesquite till the three-eighths pole and Mesquite went exterior and I went inside. Fortunately, I had a gap and the horse did the remainder. I am impressed. I did not understand how the horse was going to react within the second nook for the primary time, and it was my first time towards a stakes horse, so I used to be a bit of frightened.”
Golden Tempo earned 20 factors and is second on the Highway to the 2026 Kentucky Derby leaderboard behind Ted Nophy. Mesquite scored 10 factors and Carson Road scored six factors. Chip Honcho added 4 factors following Gun Runner’s win, putting him in fifth place with 14 factors. High quality Mischief doubled his Derby complete to 4 factors after ending fourth on Gun Runner.
Golden Tempo paid $7.40, $4.20, and $3.40. Mesquite returned $4.80 and $3.80, and Carson Road paid $6.80.
Golden Tempo, bred in Kentucky, was sired by Carlin out of Bernardini’s mare Calamba. He improved to 2:2-0-0 with earnings of $183,000.
The following cease on Fairgrounds’ Highway to the Derby is the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes, contested on Saturday, February fifteenth, with Kentucky Derby factors rising to 50-25-15-10-5.
