No Triple Crown this year for the horses, but maybe for a jockey
· UPIMay 8 (UPI) -- With Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo sitting out the Preakness, there won't be a Triple Crown winner this year -- at least not an equine one.
Jockey Jose Ortiz, however, could keep his hopes alive to win all three races, as he is set to take a leg up in the Preakness on Chip Honcho, a Steve Asmussen trainee who passed up the Run for the Roses after competing effectively against Golden Tempo three times earlier.
The Connect colt won the Gun Runner on Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds, and then was fourth when Golden Tempo won the Grade III Lecomte, second when Golden Tempo finished third in the Grade II Risen Star and fifth to Golden Tempo's third in the Louisiana Derby.
Oritz stuck with Golden Tempo through all of that, while Paco Lopez rode Chip Honcho in the Lecomte and Luis Saez in the Risen Star and Derby.
Asmussen noted, though, that Ortiz was the jockey when Chip Honcho got his first win last fall at Churchill Downs.
"He's familiar with the horse," the trainer said. "Just through consistently working with Jose over the winter and stuff, you're always discussing races and racehorses. It was his belief in Golden Tempo that proved true."
After the Derby, Ortiz expressed abiding commitment to Golden Tempo and trainer Cherie DeVaux. But he also rides regularly for Asmussen, including three straight races on Magnitude, the last of which was the Group 1 Dubai World Cup March 28.
What if Chip Honcho wins the Preakness and Asmussen sends the horse to the Belmont? Decisions, decisions.
And, speaking of decisions, the absence from the Preakness of Golden Tempo, after a similar pass by 2025 Derby winner Sovereignty, may force some soul searching, if not decision making, by Triple Crown promoters.
There is a long-standing push to space out the three races beyond the current five weeks in deference to modern training methods. And the recent acquisition of the "intellectual property rights" to the Preakness by Churchill Downs Inc. could shift some priorities away from tradition.
Meanwhile, the Maryland Jockey Club reported at midweek as many as 16 horses remained under consideration for the May 16 Preakness at its temporary home at Laurel Park.
None of them ran in the Kentucky Derby although Great White, who drew in to the Run for the Roses as an also-eligible, almost got into the starting gate before rearing, flipping and being scratched.
Also meanwhile, it's a relatively slow weekend at the tracks, and why not after the Derby week extravaganza?
Aqueduct has three graded stakes Saturday -- the Grade II Ruffian for fillies and mares at 1 mile on the dirt, the Grade III Grade III Peter Pan for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on the dirt, which can be watched for potential Belmont Stakes candidates, and the Grade III John A. Nerud at 6 furlongs on the dirt.
Gulfstream Park on Saturday features the Royal Palm Juvenile and Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies, both at 5 furlongs on the grass. The races offer free passes and travel subsidies to the juvenile events at Royal Ascot in June, and owners and trainers take the opportunity seriously.
Churchill Downs and Santa Anita also have turf sprints on Saturday -- the $225,000 William Walker at Churchill and the $100,000 Grade III Senorita for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita.
Around the world, around the clock
England
Wednesday was a good day for Coolmore, trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Ryan Moore at Cheshire.
Benvenuto Cellini let stablemate Proposition do all the early work in the Group 3 Chester Vase, blew right by him a couple of furlongs out and won by 4 1/4 lengths, seriously boosting his Derby stock.
Proposition held second, giving O'Brien his 12th win in the race and Moore his 10th.
Benvenuto Cellini, a Frankel colt, was having his 3-year-old debut after concluding his juvenile campaign with a third in the Group 1 Futurity Trophy.
Owners rep Paul Smith said, according to Racing Post, "He's ticked a box to go to Epsom for sure and this is a very good trial."
The same duo captured the Chester Oaks, as Amelia Earhart emerged from a pace-stalking trip to win by 2 lengths over the favorite, I'm the One.
The Camelot filly got her first win in the fifth start of 2025 in October at Leopardstown and had been in hibernation since.
O'Brien added a striking combination of a hood and very restrictive blinkers for the race and the combination seemed to aid Amelia Earhart's focus on the task at hand after she had shown to be "a bit quirky and kinky" as a 2-year-old. She moved to the top of the list for the Epsom Oaks with the pasting of rival I'm the One.
And it was more of the same Thursday as Jan Brueghel won the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes for O'Brien and Moore with stablemate Illinois, partnered by Wayne Lordan, third, promising good things for Coolmore for the summer.
Jan Brueghel was the last to defeat Callandagan, back in June 2025 in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Also, Constitution River, a French-bred colt by Wootton Bassett, sprung loose from four rivals in the strait to win the Dee Stakes for 3-year-olds by 7 lengths for Moore and O'Brien -- his third straight win. He will joining Benvenuto Cellini in the ranks of Derby favorites.
On Saturday at Lingfield, Moore rides Isaac Newton in the Derby Trial and Cameo in the Oaks Trial.
Across the Irish Channel, Naas stages its Oaks Trial on Saturday with Lordan up on Ice Dancer for O'Brien, and Leopardstown is the host of Saturday's Derby Trial. In the latter, the O'Brien family holds all eight entries -- Aiden five, Donnacha Aiden two and Joseph Patrick one.
France
Longchamp is the venue for Sunday's French Guineas. Check in with the weekly roundup for a recap on those.
Japan
Sunday's Grade I NHK Mile Cup looks like a scramble, with some very promising 3-year-olds looking for their optimum distance.
Among them is last year's champion 2-year-old colt, Cavallerizzo, who didn't handle the 2,000 meters of the Satsuki Sho or Japanese 2,000 Guineas in his 3-year-old debut, finishing 13th; Admire Quads, third in the 2025 Asahi Hai Futurity but 15th in the Satsuki Sho; and Diamond Knot, second in last year's Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity and winner of his 2026 debut, the Grade 3 Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon Stakes.
Taking the Mile assignment in the springtime doesn't limit distance races in the future. King Kamehameha won in 2004 and Deep Sky in 2008, and both went on to win the 2,400-meter Tokyo Yushun or Japanese Derby. El Condor Pasa won the Mile in 1998 and then captured the Japan Cup the same year.