Trainer Cherie DeVaux had indicated earlier in the week that she would experience “a touch of disappointment” if she didn’t have a formidable contender for this spring’s Kentucky Derby, presented by Woodford Reserve. With three and a half months remaining, her ambitions appear well-founded, as DeVaux-trained horses Golden Tempo and Mesquite unleashed powerful concluding efforts to secure a 1-2 finish in the Grade 3 $250,000 Lecomte Stakes on January 17th at Fair Grounds.
“Absolutely thrilled for both horses,” DeVaux expressed.
Both recently turned 3-year-olds performed admirably, with the final outcome influenced partly by their individual race strategies. Golden Tempo, who commenced slowly, managed to save ground thanks to a patient ride from Jose Ortiz, while Mesquite traversed a wider path under jockey Flavien Prat.
As the 1 1/16-mile race entered the home stretch, Golden Tempo and Mesquite advanced on the leading Carson Street, who had maintained the pace with fractional times of :23.72, :47.11, and 1:11.89. With a triumphant surge from last position, Golden Tempo reached the wire first in a time of 1:44.98 on a swift track, Ortiz raising his fist in celebration at the finish line.
“I shadowed Mesquite until we reached the three-eighths pole,” Ortiz recounted. “He moved to the outside, and I went to the inside. Fortunately, a gap opened up, and the horse handled the rest. I’m thoroughly impressed. I harbored some concern because you can never be certain how a horse will respond when tackling two turns for the first occasion, and he was also competing against stakes-level horses for the very first time.”
The Lecomte marked only Golden Tempo’s second career start, following his debut victory over six furlongs last month at Fair Grounds. In the Lecomte, Golden Tempo became the favored choice among the 10-horse field and returned $7.40 for a $2 win bet.
Mesquite, making his third start after achieving a maiden route win at Churchill Downs in his second career outing in November, finished three-quarters of a length behind Golden Tempo. Carson Street dropped back to third place, a neck behind the runner-up. Chip Honcho, the winner of the Gun Runner Stakes, had a slow start, ran wide from post 10, and concluded in fourth. Quality Mischief secured fifth place.
With Saturday’s triumph, Golden Tempo accumulated 20 qualifying points on the path to the Kentucky Derby. These points propelled him into second position on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, trailing only Ted Noffey, the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile presented by TAA champion, who currently holds 40 points.
The Lecomte served as the initial domestic preparatory race of 2026 for 3-year-olds, with Derby qualifying points allocated on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to its top five finishers. Officials at Churchill Downs employ these qualifying points to both promote the 1 1/4-mile opening leg of the Triple Crown and as a system for prioritizing entries when the race attracts more than its maximum field size of 20 participants. Point totals are set to increase for subsequent Derby preparatory races conducted later this winter and spring.
