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Golden Tempo surges in Kentucky Derby 152, Cherie Devaux becomes first female trainer to win

James Fletcher IIIby: James Fletcher III05/02/26jdfletch3

Golden Tempo made a late move down the stretch to win the 152nd Kentucky Derby. One of the long shots entering the week, the 19 horses helped make history in more ways than one.

Trainer Cherie Devaux is now the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby, seeing her only horse in the field reach the line first. It was also the first Kentucky Derby win for jockey Jose Ortiz, who passed his brother Irad Ortiz Jr. in the closing stages.

At 23-1, Golden Tempo was not talked about with the favorites, but showed a familiar trend which emerged in prep races. After riding last among the 18 horses during the early stages, the final quarter-mile was this horse’s time to shine at top speed.

Triple Crown bid

After winning the Kentucky Derby, Golden Tempo now faces options. The owners and trainer will come together to form a gameplan which best sets up the most famous 3-year old horse for long-term success. For the horse racing community, the hope is for a Preakness bid in two weeks.

It would make the shortest turnaround of his career, but also puts him in position to sit in horse racing history with the greatest of all-time as a Triple Crown candidate. If they are able to make the short turnaround, winning the Triple Crown’s shortest race, there would surely be another bid for glory.

The Belmont Stakes is run three weeks after the Preakness, giving more recovery time to the horses in the field before running a longer distance again. To win all three, a horse must possess a historic balance of speed, stamina and recovery speed which allows it to compete against fresher opponents in the final two stages.

13 horses have ever won all three races, starting with Sir Barton in 1919. After a run of successful bids in the 1930s and 1940s, there was a long gap to Secretariat in 1973. 1977 and 1978 got the only ever back-to-back Triple Crown runs from Seattle Slew and Affirmed.

There was then a long gap to American Pharoah, the next horse to achieve the feat in 2015. Justify became the latest to win the Triple Crown in 2018, giving way to another gap which continues today.