At the 152nd Kentucky Derby, something unexpected happened. Long-shot Golden Tempo won his first graded race at one of America’s toughest racing tracks. While the victory awarded jockey Jose Ortiz his 108th win, the underdog shattered the competition with a third win.
His trainer, Cherie DeVaux, is the first-ever female to win the Kentucky Derby. She understands the weight of her accomplishment after Golden Tempo stole Renegade’s second G1 win. “By doing this, I am inspiring other young women, and that, I am proud of,” she said in the Courier Journal. “Women-young, old, whatever age – can look up to me and say, ‘If she can do it, I can do it.’”
Cherie DeVaux’s Horse Training History
Before meeting Golden Tempo, DeVaux was struggling to choose a career path. The May 4th TODAY interview mentioned that she was a pre-med student, and her family is involved in the horse ranching business.
The Saratoga native trainer explained, “I wanted to go to college just to have a career with horses in my life. I was not a thoroughbred racing fan, never involved, so I went to college at Florida Gulf Coast University. My family unceremoniously dropped my bags off while they left to move back to New York.
[I stayed for two years and paid for tuition until I decided to return to my home state and attended SUNY-Albany]. My mother noticed that I needed a job and told me, ‘Well, they have this job called the ‘hot walk girl’. It’s basically someone who needs to walk the horses in a circle.’ And that was it. [From then on, I wanted to be an exercise rider].”
Devaux shares her gratitude towards her now husband, David. After establishing her own barn in 2018, they discussed her getting into professional horse training. “I was burned out from being an assistant trainer. I wanted to do something more for myself,” she told WLEX-TV.
It would take her around 11 months for her to win her first horse race. Throughout her career, she won 7 G1s, 3 G2s, and 12 G3s races.
All Bets on Golden Tempo and Jose Ortiz
Those who saw Cherie DeVaux’s potential for a Kentucky Derby win felt her training had paid off for Golden Tempo. She trained him for weeks, observing his running style. According to her and the Kentucky Derby database, he’s a deep closer.
This strategy is known to help horses conserve stamina until the race’s final quarter. Unlike late closers and stalkers, they are at less risk of fighting with their opponents. Umamusume: Cinderella Gray has taught viewers consequences when Oguri Cap faced Tamamo Cross and Obey Your Master (Pay the Butler IRL) in the Japan Cup.
Deep closing is perfect for the Kentucky Derby since the track distance is 1.25 miles (10 furlongs). It was originally 1.5 miles (12 furlongs), but was lowered in 1896 because three-year-old horses couldn’t handle the distance.
Even more exciting was Golden Tempo’s chosen jockey is Jose Ortiz. The 152nd Kentucky Derby became a special race between him and his older brother, Irad Ortiz, Jr. DeVaux had the honor of working alongside both family members throughout her training career.
The Lexington Herald Leader stated that neither brother won Kentucky. Their combined total is up to 19 starts. At the May 2nd race, Irad Jr. rode Renegade, a three-year-old colt who took home gold at the 2026 Arkansas Derby.
The stakes grew higher for Golden Tempo as his pedigree comes from a line of runner-ups. His father, Curlin, mated with the Kentucky dirt racing mare, Carrumba. Her pacing mostly landed her in the top 5 in her career before retiring in 2017.
However, it did not steer gamblers away from betting on the underdog. Thanks to his previous graded races, he was considered a mid-tier contender with 26-1 odds. That means he had a 4.17% chance of winning. Renegade had 6-1 odds, with 14.29% probability.
A Jackpot of First Wins
Golden Tempo’s performance has given horse racing fans excitement for the Kentucky Derby in recent years. Positioned in the 19th gate, he began dead last and waited for the final quarter, sprinting madly with Jose holding on for dear life on his back. Even DeVaux couldn’t hold in her cheers:
Both veterans and newcomers have compared it to Secretariat’s runs. Little did they know that the 1970s superstar was Golden Tempo’s ancestor. Pedigree Query posted Golden Tempo’s official family tree, where Secretariat can be found on Carrumba’s side.
At the end of the 152nd Kentucky Derby, this team earned a well-deserved jackpot of firsts. Golden Tempo is now an American G1 winner, Jose takes the Ortiz family’s first Kentucky Derby win, and DeVaux steps into racehorse history as the first female trainer to win on the 15-decade-old track. Maybe someday, they will make a cameo in Umamusume: Pretty Derby.
