Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, the place we have a look every week at a latest winner on the Street to the Derby schedule that provides qualifying factors to the 1 ¼-mile basic race Might 2, 2026, at Churchill Downs.
This week, we take a more in-depth take a look at Golden Tempo, the three-quarter-length winner of the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes Jan. 17 at Truthful Grounds. Golden Tempo banked 20 factors for the win and rose to second on the Street to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with a victory in his first stakes race.
Racing Résumé: Golden Tempo improved to 2-for-2 with a last-to-first win within the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes. He trailed the 10-horse area by means of the primary three-quarters of a mile within the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte and handed 9 horses within the closing five-sixteenths below Jose Ortiz to prevail on a monitor that had favored velocity all through the day.
The Lecomte victory adopted a debut win sprinting three-quarters of a mile Dec. 20 on the New Orleans monitor for coach Cherie DeVaux.
Truthful Grounds has the longest stretch run for a mud monitor in North America and supplied ample actual property for Golden Tempo to rally in each begins thus far. What was regarding to me within the Lecomte was how slowly your complete area completed as a closing quarter mile in :25.74 and a closing eighth of a mile in :12.98 was enough for Golden Tempo to move your complete area.
“I knew that monitor was taking part in ahead but when I’ve a horse like him, that doesn’t have early velocity, what are you able to do?” Ortiz mentioned. “I used to be simply very affected person. … Fortunately, I bought a gap and the horse did the remaining. I’m very impressed. I used to be a little bit bit frightened since you by no means understand how a horse goes to react going two turns for the primary time and he was dealing with stakes horses for the primary time.”
Pace Figures: Golden Tempo’s velocity figures for the Lecomte – 84 Equibase Pace Determine, 81 Beyer Pace Determine – are reflective of the sluggish end within the race. His Equibase quantity dipped three factors from the 87 he earned in his debut whereas his Beyer determine improved three factors from a 78 to an 81. Golden Tempo has room to enhance after two races, and the velocity figures point out he might want to take a big step ahead to compete with the very best 3-year-olds.
Working Type: Deep closers like Golden Tempo are dependent upon others to make sure an sincere tempo and steadily should navigate site visitors when rallying in bigger fields, like he confronted within the Lecomte and would see within the Kentucky Derby ought to he proceed to progress.
Pedigree Notes: Golden Tempo’s pedigree incorporates a terrific mixture of sophistication and stamina. He’s by two-time Horse of the Yr Curlin, a robust supply of stamina, out of Carrumba, a Grade 3 winner at 1 1/8 miles by 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini.
Derby Potential: Given the pedigree, elite connections, and two wins in as many begins, Golden Tempo has the makings of a severe Kentucky Derby candidate, however he might want to run a lot quicker to proceed to excel because the competitors will get harder. Progress in racehorses isn’t linear and proficient 3-year-olds usually ship breakout performances that point out vital enchancment. That’s what we’ll have to see from Golden Ticket if he’s going to be a bona-fide Kentucky Derby candidate. He’s not quick sufficient but, however there may be a lot to love.
