Tiffany Roget

The right trainer for the right horse at the right time. Golden Tempo and Cherie DeVaux are the quite the team. Her constant belief in her horse [GT] and his jockey, Jose Ortiz, is a spectacular thing to behold.

I couldn’t believe it when I first watched GT hanging out from the back of the herd before sprinting across the finish line (Yes! Exactly like a V-8 powered Mustang) in the 2026 Kentucky Derby. And then there we were today watching him break wonky from the starting gate out of the number nine slip (farthest to the outside) and in spite of this shortcoming making magic happen again when it mattered in the 2026 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga racetrack.

Somebody give that horse some carrots or peppermints or apples – whichever he prefers. As much as he wishes. Right now!

I know that I’m supposed to consider it a big deal that Cherie DeVaux is the first female trainer to ever win two legs of the Triple Crown series. Like that somehow more solidifies her dominance in the sport. And not that she doesn’t deserve all accolades coming her way if she chooses to accept them. But to focus on that as a primary component feeding her success undermines so much of what she’s worked so hard her entire life to accomplish. Understandably, I choose not to focus on her birth gender – something she, personally, had zero control over.

Instead, I state, “Wow! Way to go Cherie DeVaux! Love your heart, focus, determination, kindness and dedication to your horses’ well-being.” The latter as evidenced in Ms. DeVaux’s decision to not run Golden Tempo in the second leg of the Triple Crown – the Preakness – because she determined GT wasn’t ready to exert himself yet again to the degree required to win that race.

The sport of Thoroughbred racing in the U.S. definitely needs at least ten more Cherie DeVauxs (of course all at the same time ;). Razor focused mind and unwavering commitment to the right things is the way this woman rolls. I love it.

For those of you who follow Thoroughbred racing for betting purposes in hopes of winning big bucks, Golden Tempo’s stats in the Belmont Stakes’ race were as follows:

1. Won by a one and a quarter length advantage
2. Final time = 2:03.49 (in short, this horse is a miraculous stalker who loves pushing things into overdrive when encouraged by his jockey before the wire.)

I have no insider knowledge into trainer Cherie DeVaux’s future plans for the beautiful Bay, Golden Tempo. But, I, one thousand percent am invested in hoping GT is fit and well and interested in running any race in this fall’s Breeders’ Cup series at the $100 million dollar newly remodeled Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky – famously known as the “Horse Capital of the World.”