Long shot Golden Tempo made a stretch run for the ages, coming from dead last to win the 152nd Run for the Roses. In the process, Cherie DeVaux became the first female trainer ever to win the Kentucky Derby.
In a Derby without a strong favorite, most of the public’s attention was on Arkansas Derby winner Renegade, Florida Derby winner Commandment, Santa Anita Derby winner So Happy and Bill Mott trainee Chief Wallabee.
But it was Golden Tempo, trained by DeVaux and ridden by Jose Ortiz, who went off at 23-1 and found itself in last place entering the final turns only to sweep past a tight pack in the stretch run to win by a nose over favorite Renegade. Ocelli, a 70-1 longshot, showed. The winning time was 2:02.27.
The payouts were significant:
- Golden Tempo (23-1): $48.24
- Renegade (5-1): $7.14
- Ocelli (70-1): $36.34
- $2 exacta: $278.86
The stretch run from Golden Tempo was, in a few words, impossible to believe. As the pack entered the final turns, Golden Tempo wasn’t in view of the leaders. As the pack entered the stretch, the 3-year-old had moved up to 13th in the 18-horse race, but still seemingly out of contention. But Ortiz drove through traffic deftly, then found a lane on the outside straight to victory, edging out Renegade at the wire.
Gaynor-Davis.com 