For Cherie DeVaux, historic Kentucky Derby win may be first of many

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Before Cherie DeVaux won a Breeders’ Cup race, before one of her horses won an Eclipse Award, before she became the answer to a Siri question: “Who was the first trainer to win the Kentucky Derby?” – she faced the same problem as every new coach.

She needed horses.

Luckily for her, it was 2018 and she had just married David Ingordo, a major bloodline agent. He would surely bring him top horses and DeVaux would be on his way.

Except… it took DeVaux 11 months to win his first race.

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, celebrates with her husband, David Ingordo, Saturday at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

“It was 100% my fault,” Ingordo said. “We collected our own horses; we were completely self-funded. And the collection of horses that I collected consisted of yaks, llamas and sheep. They were not related to the equine species.

“I told him, ‘You should have divorced me because of the fucking horses I put in there.'”

Ingordo was telling that story Sunday, standing in the cool of the morning outside Barn 37 at Churchill Downs, where dozens of cameras and a few reporters were there to record every word his wife had to say, 12 hours after she made history.

“It’s a good thing I don’t have social anxiety,” DeVaux joked as he stood in front of the crowd.

She reported that Golden Tempo, munching on hay in her stall about 50 feet behind her, was doing well, two hours before making a 70-mile pickup truck ride to DeVaux’s base in Keeneland. The decision on whether it will continue east next week to Laurel Park, temporary home of the May 16 Preakness, won’t be made for several days.

DeVaux said she celebrated with family late Saturday night, finally falling asleep at 1:30 a.m. and allowing herself to “sleep in a little,” not getting up until four hours later. There were more than 800 text messages on her phone and she was thinking about what to pack for a flight to New York, where she was scheduled to appear at 7:30 a.m. Monday on NBC’s “Today” show.

“I don’t know if the enormity of the situation is yet understood,” she said.

But DeVaux, 44, has never forgotten where she came from. She grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York, known for its thoroughbred racing, but her family was involved in harness racing and she never wanted to become a trainer anyway. She was in college when most of her family moved to Florida, and she stayed behind to finish her degree. She needed a job to help pay her tuition, and her mother told her there was a racetrack across the street “and all you have to do is walk the horses.”

Cherie DeVaux, trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, is surrounded by media in the winner’s circle Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky.

(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

DeVaux’s plan was to go to medical school, but when an advisor told her she needed to take an organic chemistry class, “I just looked at her and said, ‘No, I’m going to go work at the racetrack.’ She said, “Are you sure? and I was like, ‘I’ll just see how it works.’

His first job was with Chuck Simon, who had worked for his father. She was 22 when she showed up at Churchill Downs.

“I was a wild child,” DeVaux said Saturday night. “Chuck saw I was going in the wrong direction and took me under his wing and made me assistant coach, reluctantly, because I really enjoyed the party life. But he kind of screwed me over.

“He would be so proud. I’m here because of him. Because he pushed me. He pushed my limits. He gave me direction when I needed it. And he was always proud of me. But I just think that would have definitely put him over the top.”

Holding one of the roses that accompanied Golden Tempo’s victory, she added: “And I can’t wait to leave one at our old barn here.”

That’s exactly what she did Saturday night before leaving the track.

Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux attends morning workouts before the Kentucky Derby April 27 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

“It was really emotional,” she said Sunday of her stop at Barn 14. “You know, you arrive and all the memories of being there come back, and … it’s an honor to be able to do something, you know? It’s just a rose, but it meant a lot. That’s when I unloaded my car for the first time, and I was like, ‘OK, let’s do this.’

DeVaux then worked for Chad Brown for several years before making the decision to strike out on her own. She said Ingordo told her to give it three years and if that didn’t work she could do something else.

But Ingordo, who has worked in motorsport since he was 15, spending time with coaches such as Bobby Frankel and Bruce Headley and later his stepfather, John Shirreffs, said he knew it would work.

“I always say that talent and class show up very quickly in horses and people,” Ingordo said. “And, you know, I looked at Cherie and I saw her, and I knew her from her previous work. And I could look at…the coach’s name could have been in the news, but I saw who was doing the work. And I said to her, ‘You’re too talented to be an assistant. And it would be a waste if you didn’t try it.'”

It worked. Slowly at first, but business picked up and DeVaux started winning bigger races. Her breakthrough came in 2023 when she had roles like More Than Looks, Vahva and She Feels Pretty. The latter earned her first Grade 1 victory in the 2023 Natalma at Woodbine, and the following year all three of these horses won Grade 1 races, including More Than Looks in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar. Last year, She Feels Pretty won two more Grade 1s and was voted the Eclipse Award as the top female turf horse.

She also has a life off the track, as much as any coach can have. Ingordo has full custody of a 15-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and he said: “Meeting Cherie hasn’t just been good for me, it’s been great for my daughter.”

As for writing the story, Ingordo said it’s not something they talk about, and DeVaux “doesn’t sit there and say, ‘I’m a woman, listen to me roar.’

“But at the same time,” he said, “she’s very aware of the fact that this is a very male-dominated industry throughout history. It’s probably a little chauvinistic at times, if not more so.

“And for her to do that… You know, she’s not a one-hit wonder. The top 25 should be her domain, somewhere in there, for a long time.”