Golden Tempo wins Kentucky Derby as DeVaux breaks through gender barrier in Louisville
Cherie DeVaux secures landmark win in America’s most famous horse race, becomes first woman to train winner
Golden Tempo stormed from the very back of the pack to triumph in the 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Saturday, giving trainer Cherie DeVaux a landmark victory as the first woman to saddle the winner of America’s most famous horse race.
Sent off at 24-1, Golden Tempo broke slowly under Jose Ortiz and trailed the 18-horse field before threading through traffic and unleashing a late charge to claim the “Run for the Roses” on a fast track in cool, cloudy conditions in Louisville.
Renegade, the 5-1 co-favourite ridden by Ortiz’s brother Irad Ortiz Jnr, finished second, while 70-1 long-shot Ocelli was third in front of a crowd of 150,415.
DeVaux, nearly speechless after making history, said she hoped the victory would resonate beyond racing.
“I don’t even have any words right now,” DeVaux said in a post-race interview. “I’m glad that I could be a representative of all women everywhere. We can do anything we set our minds to,” she said.
“I’m just so happy for Golden Tempo and Jose, who did a masterful job at getting him there, because he was so far out of it. He has had so much faith in this horse.”