Louisville (United States) (AFP) – Golden Tempo roared home to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby on Saturday, making Cherie DeVaux the first woman trainer to capture the iconic race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
“I don’t even have any words right now, I just can’t,” an emotional DeVaux told broadcaster NBC as she made her way toward the winner’s circle. “I’m just so, so happy for Golden Tempo.”
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Jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo’s late surge and held off his brother, Irad Ortiz Jr., aboard early favorite Renegade, to seize his first Kentucky Derby victory in his 11th start. Renegade finished second by a neck, and Ocelli, a 70-1 shot who was a late addition to the field after multiple scratches, was third.
“Jose did a wonderful job, masterful job of getting him there,” DeVaux said after watching Golden Tempo, who went off at odds of 23-1, make his way from the back of the pack. “He was so far out of it.” Renegade, trying to become the first horse in 40 years to win the Kentucky Derby from the first post, was quickly shuffled back as Six Speed — a three-time winner in Dubai — and So Happy, ridden by veteran Mike Smith, set the early pace. Six Speed and Japanese raider Danon Bourbon dueled for the lead for most of the race.
But Ocelli, trained by Whit Beckman and ridden by Joe Ramos, chasing a first career victory, had powered to the front before Golden Tempo came through with Renegade on his heels. “He ran a race exactly kind of how we thought he was going to run,” Golden Tempo owner Daisy Phipps Pulito of Phipps Stable said. “He broke and he kind of ducked back, and Jose did a phenomenal job of getting him in a decent position. We knew he was going to have one run … and he had the run we needed today.”
DeVaux is just the second female trainer to saddle a winner in any of US flat racing’s Triple Crown races after Jena Antonucci with Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes. She won the Derby in her first opportunity. “I’m glad I can be representative of women everywhere,” she said, crediting her husband with urging her to pursue her dream of training when she was at a career crossroads in 2017. “We can do anything we set our minds to,” she said.
The start of the race was delayed slightly when Great White reared and flipped on his side going into the starting gate. He was the second race-day scratch in the $5 million, 1 1/4-mile race, which originally was set for a field of 20 but went off with 18 runners.
It was an emotional win for Ortiz, who called the Derby “the biggest race in the world for me.” “I get to ride it almost every year, but to get to win it, it’s just special,” he said. “Just very happy that I get my goal, my life dream goal achieved,” he said, the tears flowing.
The Triple Crown continues with the Preakness Stakes on May 16 and the Belmont Stakes on June 6. But neither the Preakness nor the Belmont will be run at their historic venues. The Preakness will be run at Laurel Park in Maryland as Pimlico Race Course undergoes renovations while the Belmont will be run at Saratoga for the third and final year due to renovations at Belmont Park. Only 13 horses have completed the treble.
Phipps Pulito said Golden Tempo’s connections would wait to assess the colt’s condition in the wake of the race to decide if he’ll be pointed at the Preakness. “We’re going to have to see how he comes out of the race and talk to Cherie,” she said.
© 2024 AFP
