LOUISVILLE, Ky. — History was made in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and Golden Tempo, trained by Cherie DeVaux, needed to go to great lengths to achieve it.
The 3-year-old colt came all the way back from last place in the field of 18 after three-quarters of a mile to thunder down the stretch under Jose Ortiz to clip Renegade at the wire and make DeVaux, 44, the first female trainer to saddle a Derby winner.
As the horses roared toward the wire, DeVaux jumped up and down, leaning on a counter with her legs kicking in the air almost as quickly as her horse’s.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “None of us really could believe it. There was a joke that I’m going to be a one-and-done, but now I think I might have to do this again.”
DeVaux, who has saddled 298 winners in 1,802 career starts, joined Jena Antonucci, who trained Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes, as the only female trainers to win Triple Crown races.
“I’m glad I can be a representative of all women everywhere that we can do anything we set our minds to,” DeVaux said.
Renegade, the morning-line favorite at 4-1, also sought to make history by becoming the first horse to win out of the inside gate in 40 years. Midway through the race, he was 15 lengths back. However, under Irad Ortiz Jr., Jose’s brother, he made a mad dash down the stretch and for a moment appeared to be in position to win.
Renegade charged outside and took the lead late, only for Golden Tempo to go one lane farther outside and overtake Renegade just before the wire.
As far back as Renegade was, Golden Tempo was even further behind as the combination of Six Speed, So Happy, Danon Bourbon and Wonder Dean set a blazing pace with the first half-mile completed in 46.44 seconds.
Golden Tempo was 17-1/4 lengths back after the first quarter, with Jose Ortiz letting the Curlin-bred horse stride leisurely. They started making up ground, but even as they entered the stretch, they were 12th and still more than six lengths behind.
For the moves Ortiz made in the race, the smartest one he made may have been before the race.
The start to the chilliest Derby since 1989 was delayed several minutes when Great White dropped his jockey and rolled over while waiting to enter the gate. That led to him being a last-minute scratch and prompted track officials to unload and reload the starting gate.
Golden Tempo was in the process of walking to the gate when his jockey saw Great White’s antics, and Ortiz told the starters they would not go in.
Ortiz said he did not know if not having to pull out and reload helped his horse, but he knew the alternative.
“I would hate that,” the rider said. “I think that the horse is ready. His mind is ready to go. When you put him in, he knows he’s going forward. As soon as you back him up, then everything changes.”
Great White appeared fine as he trotted off the track.
In going the 1-1/4 miles in 2:02.27, Golden Tempo paid $48.24 to win, $19.14 to place and $11.90 to show. Renegade, who went off as the second choice behind Further Ado, paid $7.14 and $5.46, while Ocelli paid $36.34.
Golden Tempo earned $3.1 million with Saturday’s win. He is owned by Phipps Stable, a family with a deep history in racing, and St. Elias Stable, owned by Vincent and Teresa Viola.
–Steve Bittenbender, Field Level Media
