With Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Golden Tempo awaiting the Belmont Stakes (G1) in June, Chip Honcho will be reunited with jockey Jose Ortiz for the 151st Preakness Stakes (G1) May 16 at Laurel Park.
The last jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown on different horses was Calvin Borel in 2009. But in that case, he took off 50-1 Derby winner Mine That Bird to ride his 20-length Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness. Mine That Bird finished second to the filly by a length under Mike Smith.
Ortiz was aboard for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen when Chip Honcho won a maiden race at Churchill Downs after finishing second at Keeneland in his debut last fall. After Chip Honcho won the Gun Runner Dec. 20 at Fair Grounds to end his 2-year-old season, he faced Golden Tempo three times at the New Orleans track. He was a close fourth when Golden Tempo won the Lecomte (G3), a close second while Golden Tempo was third in the Risen Star (G2), and fifth while Golden Tempo was third in the Louisiana Derby (G2).
“He broke his maiden,” Asmussen said of Ortiz, who has run away with the Fair Grounds riding titles in his two winters based in New Orleans. “He’s familiar with the horse. 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.”
Ortiz has become one of Asmussen’s go-to riders. That includes winning three straight races on the stable’s star older horse, Magnitude, most recently in the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 28 at Meydan Racecourse.
Meanwhile, Asmussen dismisses suggestions that having finished in front of the Derby winner before computes to future success.
“It doesn’t do anything for your next race,” he said. “It doesn’t. That’s what I love about horse racing; your past performances don’t win. You have to be ready on the day. I’ve said it a million times: You’re so sure of the outcome they let you bet on it.”
But whereas Golden Tempo went on to Derby glory, Asmussen felt a better scenario for Chip Honcho was to run in front of the 4,800-person limit at Laurel Park, where the Preakness is staged this year during the rebuilding of Pimlico Race Course.
“It’s all about the afternoon. He handles extremely well in the morning, and he hasn’t handled exactly like we want some afternoons,” he added. “The decision of waiting to the Preakness is the unique circumstance of the capacity at Laurel this year.
“When he handles [the race environment] and things go right, that’s what we want to get back to. That’s our job. I like how he’s doing really well right now. He looked beautiful on the racetrack this morning. The Preakness is wide open and a great opportunity for a Classic.”
Asmussen dubbed the 2026 Kentucky Derby “the Curlin Derby,” given that his two-time Horse of the Year and 2007 Preakness winner is the sire of Golden Tempo and the broodmare sire of runner-up Renegade, and third-place Ocelli’s sire is the Curlin stallion Connect. Chip Honcho — purchased for $210,000 by co-owner Lee Ackerley at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July 2024 yearling sale — also is a son of Connect, who stands at Lane’s End.
“Connect was an excellent racehorse, actually beat Gun Runner in the Pennsylvania Derby [G1],” Asmussen said, referencing another of his Hall of Fame horses that the next year was Horse of the Year. “An excellent physical. When Lee acquired Chip Honcho, obviously, the influence [from Curlin] gave us a lot of confidence.”
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
