Golden Tempo has already settled the three-year-old argument for now. The more interesting question, after his Belmont Stakes surge, is how quickly he can force himself into the same conversation as the best older horses in America.
The latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association polling underlines the scale of his rise. Cherie DeVaux’s colt remains clear at the top of the three-year-old standings after adding the Belmont Stakes to his Kentucky Derby win, while he also picked up support in the wider Top Thoroughbred poll headed by Nysos.
That does not crown him Horse of the Year in June, and nor should it. But it does show how far the Curlin colt has travelled in a spring campaign that turned from promise into authority at Churchill Downs and Saratoga.
Golden Tempo Now Has A Bigger Question To Answer
Golden Tempo’s Belmont win was built on familiar strengths. He was allowed to find his rhythm, made his run from the back, and then had enough quality to put away Commandment and Renegade in the stretch.
The NTRA figures placed him first in the three-year-old poll with 29 first-place votes and 290 points, ahead of Commandment and Renegade. In the open-age poll, he was still outside the top 10, but his 52 points and first-place support were enough to make the wider division take notice.
That matters because the second half of the season will not be judged only against horses of his own age. The Travers can strengthen his position within the crop, but the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland is the race that could drag him fully into the older-horse argument.
ReadHorseRacing has already looked at how Golden Tempo swept the final three-year-old NTRA poll, and this latest update gives that earlier dominance a sharper edge.
Saratoga Route Keeps The Stakes High
The immediate plan remains Saratoga. DeVaux has pointed to the Grade 2 Jim Dandy on August 1 as the likely next stop, with the Grade 1 Travers on August 29 the bigger summer target.
The Jim Dandy is no simple stepping stone. It brings Golden Tempo back to nine furlongs, a distance at which he was beaten earlier in the season before he developed into a colt who looked tailor-made for a mile and a quarter.
That is why the race is so revealing. A smooth Jim Dandy would show tactical range as well as class. A hard-fought one would still leave room for improvement, but it would give rivals a little more hope before the Travers.
DeVaux has kept the preparation deliberately familiar, with Golden Tempo returning to Keeneland before the Saratoga assignments. She told reporters the aim was to remove unnecessary unknowns and stick with the routine that has worked so well.
That approach is easy to understand. Golden Tempo skipped the Preakness, trained into the Belmont, and was rewarded with a performance that confirmed the Derby was no one-day wonder. His earlier Preakness absence now looks less like avoidance and more like good campaign management.
Renegade And Commandment Still Have Their Say
The division is not finished, even if Golden Tempo has earned the leading role. Renegade and Commandment both have form that keeps them relevant, and the Haskell, Jim Dandy, Travers and Pennsylvania Derby could all reshape the chasing pack.
Stark Contrast is another name to keep close after his own Saratoga ambitions were sharpened, with a Belmont Derby plan now on the table following his American Turf progress.
For Golden Tempo, though, the path is obvious. He has done enough to lead his generation, enough to make voters look beyond it, and enough to ensure every workout between now and the Jim Dandy carries a little more weight.
The colt does not need to win the summer in June. He has simply made sure the summer now runs through him.
Sources: NTRA, Paulick Report, Daily Racing Form.
