Golden Tempo Gets Acquainted With Saratoga's Main Track

On a crisp June 2 morning, one that suggested fall rather than summer is on its way, Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo became acquainted for the first time with Saratoga Race Course's main track as he continued preparations for his assignment in the June 6 Belmont Stakes (G1). Accompanied by trainer Cherie DeVaux on the pony and ridden by Enrique Miranda, Golden Tempo's regular exercise rider, the colt entered the main track at 7:30 a.m. ET and jogged off the wrong way. He made an entire circuit at a jog around the 1 1/8-mile oval before exiting the gap on the far turn, the same one he had entered minutes before. On hand to watch the brief training session was co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito and Monique Delk, manager for co-owner St. Elias Stable. Golden Tempo arrived at 5:30 a.m. June 1 by van after an approximately 13-hour journey from Lexington, and took up residence in Barn 83 at the Oklahoma track. "He had a long trip and had breezed (May 30 at Keeneland)," DeVaux said of Tuesday's easy day of training. "So, this was just an easy jog day (to) let him get acclimated to his surroundings." Miranda, who also serves as one of DeVaux's assistants, said he too was acclimating after his 11-hour drive from Kentucky to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "I drove up here all in one night, and I'm still paying for it," the soft-spoken Miranda said with a smile. Miranda said the son of Curlin "felt fresh and was moving good. He took to the track really well and was just taking things in. He likes to look at all the surroundings. It was the same thing at Churchill when we were there; very interested in the other horses and the people around and the cameras." Miranda and Golden Tempo have been partnered since December, and while exercise riders may not always stay with the same horse, this duo stuck. Miranda explained, "We have a big team of exercise riders, and I try to get on every horse at least once, just so I can match them up by knowing who will get along with who. I got on Golden Tempo and I really liked him; we got along so well. So, he's not one that I gave back to anyone else." For Miranda, a former West Coaster who worked for trainer John Sadler in Southern California, it's his third year coming to Saratoga as the traveling assistant for DeVaux for whom he began working with in late 2023. He explained that he had made an offhand remark to DeVaux's sister, Adrianne, when he was in Kentucky with a couple of Sadler horses that had shipped there to run. "I told Cherie's sister that I loved Kentucky and if they were ever looking for somebody … I had been thinking of making a change. Cherie came to me later and said, 'If you're not joking, I do have a spot for you.' "After some consideration … I had watched her operation, and I liked the way she did things, I made the move." For Miranda, who turns 34 June 13, the odyssey he has been on the last several weeks, being associated with a classic winner and all the hoopla that comes with that, is not something he's taking for granted. It wasn't that long ago that Miranda was up against some tall obstacles in his life because of substance abuse. He turned to the Winners Foundation, an employee assistance program serving the California horse racing industry. He worked the program—even though there were some rocky times along the way—and he sorted his life out and took a job with Sadler. "To put it plainly, (the Winners Foundation) probably saved my life," Miranda said. "Without their help, I don't know where I would be. They had helped me before, and I wasn't taking the opportunities they were giving me. For whatever reason, this time they helped me, it stuck. "I talked to the Winners Foundation the other day. It was a nice conversation. I told them how grateful I am and I was just thanking them. They are really happy for me."