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‘Women everywhere…’: Cherie DeVaux shares true feelings after Golden Tempo's Kentucky Derby win
Cherie DeVaux became the first woman horse trainer to win the Kentucky Derby
Cherie DeVaux was ecstatic, and why would she not be. The 44-year-old made history - becoming the first woman horse trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. Her colt, Golden Tempo, won the derby and bagged a whopping $3.1 million prize money.
Golden Tempo stormed to victory, coming from behind in a dramatic fashion. The horse charged down the stretch to make history for DeVaux in the 1 1/8-mile race. Renegade was second and long shot Ocelli third.
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Cherie DeVaux's first reaction
“I’m glad I can be representative of women everywhere. We can do anything we set our minds to,” DeVaux said in a post-race interview.
However, DeVaux is not the first woman trainer to win a major derby. She is just the second female trainer to win any Triple Crown race after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. She won the Derby in her first opportunity, eight years since starting her own stable.
During the week, DeVaux shifted from downplaying what it would mean to be the first woman to train a Derby winner to understanding she’s a role model to girls who might want to follow in her footsteps someday. She’s just the 18th woman to saddle a horse in the Kentucky Derby.
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Just before the derby, DeVaux shared her perspective of the historic moment. “I don’t really look at it as male versus female,” she told LEX18. “I just try to do the best I can, but in the back of my mind, just to be a strong role model.”
She was already coming off some major wins, including training a Breeders’ Cup winner.
“The only thing I want to do in my career is be the first female to win a Kentucky Derby,” she told LEX18. “This is our first Derby starter, and we’re one step closer.”
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Jockey Jose Ortiz
Jockey Jose Ortiz showed off the riding prowess that has made him so successful at Churchill Downs in recent days to win the Derby for the first time in his 11th try. He beat brother Irad, who rode Renegade, to that accomplishment.
The race went on with just 18 horses after Great White was a late scratch for flipping and throwing his jockey.
