SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – It was just another routine morning for GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes champ Golden Tempo (Curlin) Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.The colt, working in company with stablemate Paige Turner (Army Mule), a 3-year-old filly, who was ridden by Ameth Gonzalez, worked four furlongs in :48.94 (22/56) just after 7 a.m.As the days count down to the $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes–Golden Tempo's next intended start–interest in the horse continues to rise.Cherie DeVaux, Golden Tempo's trainer, wants to keep her stable icon as focused as possible and that means keeping the star gazers away from him.“He has barricades (in front of his stall) and we had to put up some plastic chains,” DeVaux said outside her barn at the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning. “As much as we want to be accommodating, it's just not feasible to allow anyone in your barn. It's been a little bit of a challenge.”It might be a little stressful for DeVaux and her staff, but Golden Tempo probably wouldn't flinch if a cannon went off next to his stall. .@KentuckyDerby and @BelmontStakes winner Golden Tempo, inside, and @jose93_ortiz worked 4f in company with stablemate Paige Turner and Ameth Gonzalez Saturday morning on Saratoga main for @RealDeUavx . Time was 48.94 pic.twitter.com/iKBv6shZos— Tim Wilkin (@tjwilkin) August 8, 2026“He is really an easy horse,” DeVaux said. “Nothing bothers him. He doesn't care if it's busy. He is so professional and so mature and so classy. He can go anywhere and nothing gets him upset.”Saturday's work was the third at Saratoga for Golden Tempo since shipping from Keeneland and he impressed his trainer once more. After Ortiz finished the half-mile breeze, he continued with a strong gallop out, which was by design.“The way he runs, it's really important,” DeVaux said. “You look at a race; he is just getting going after a half. It's just an extension of the work and, going a mile and a quarter, I want to make sure he is plenty fit.”Golden Tempo, owned and bred by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, had worked on Sunday in his first two Spa works. DeVaux moved it to Saturday because of the possibility of stormy weather Saturday evening into Sunday.Ocelli prepares to head to the track Saturday | Sarah AndrewOcelli Works, Beckman not Sure About Next StartAs he sat in his office at the Oklahoma Training Track Saturday morning, trainer Whit Beckman said he doesn't know what race is next for his popular maiden, Ocelli (Connect). And he is in no rush to make that decision.It looks like it will be either the $1.25 million GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 29 or the $1 million GI Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Sept. 19. Or, since Ocelli has never won a race (0-10 for his career), it could even be a maiden race.“We've got weeks before any of them, so we are just training him right now,” Beckman said. “We'll see what he looks like the week before the Travers. Why not? The best part about it, even when we make a decision, is that we can change it.”Ocelli was last seen finishing last in the GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park July 18. Both Beckman and jockey Tyler Gaffalione are tossing that effort, blaming the off track for the surprising finish.Ocelli has proved to be competitive vs the best of the 3-year-old division after finishing third in the GI Kentucky Derby and fourth in the GI Preakness Stakes. He also has a second in the GIII Ohio Derby on his resume and boasts career earnings of $842,300. Not bad for a maiden.Saturday, Ocelli, with Gaffalione on board, worked four furlongs in :47.90 (8/101) on the main track, just after 7 a.m. They worked alone.Beckman only needed one word to explain what he saw.“Fantastic,” he said. “It was great. Broke off well, came home well, galloped out phenomenally. We saw everything we needed to see from him in order to continue on.”Ocelli is owned by Ashley Durr, Anthony Tate and Front Page Equestrian, LLC. Beckman said the owners are all in on whatever Beckman decides to do. And, right now, Beckman is in no hurry to decide anything.“After the last two works here, we are very happy he is coming into form,” Beckman said.Manny Franco won six in a row Friday | Sarah AndrewFranco Looking for a Strong Second Half at SpaThe day after his personal six-pack at Saratoga Race Course, jockey Manny Franco was right back at it. Early Saturday morning, the 31-year-old Franco and his agent, John Panagot, were making the rounds on the Oklahoma Training Track.The day before, Franco had tied a Saratoga record when he won six races. Only Hall of Famers John Velazquez and Ramon Dominguez (twice), as well as Irad Ortiz Jr. (just last month), have won half a dozen races in a single Spa race day.“It's an elite colony of jockeys here,” Franco said after working a horse on the Oklahoma. “Saratoga is the hardest place to win; I'm just happy to do it here.”Having a big day like Friday is not news for Franco. He won six on two separate occasions at Aqueduct–Jan. 6, 2023, and this past Feb. 12. He did one better at Colonial Downs Sept. 7, 2024, when he won seven races.Franco's Friday barrage put him right in the thick of the Saratoga riding standings. He started Saturday in third place with 33 wins, three behind leader Flavien Prat and two behind Jose Ortiz in second. Irad Ortiz Jr., who missed the first six days of the meet due to suspension and one day riding out of town, was in fourth with 30 wins.“I'm right there,” said Franco, who has never won a Saratoga riding title. “Hopefully, things keep going the way they are going. I will keep working hard. If it happens, it happens.”“He is having a great meet,” Panagot said. “He is well supported across the board. We came into the meet thinking we had the business to have a strong meet.”Franco wanted to give plenty of credit to his agent and, of course, to the trainers and owners who put him on these live horses. And then he gave most of the flowers to the horses.After the victory tour on Friday, Franco said he had a quiet dinner out with his family. When asked if anyone recognized him, he smiled.“Around here, everyone knows you,” he said. “This place is all about horses.”After his big day Friday–he also worked five horses in the morning–Franco felt no fatigue heading into Saturday.“No,” he said with a big smile, “I'm not tired. I can go all day. When you win, you don't get tired.”The post Saratoga Notebook, Presented By NYRA Bets: Golden Tempo Works, Unfazed By Any Outside Noise appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.