Winning the Kentucky Derby is often considered the peak of horse racing, but that doesn’t usually guarantee continued success. No Derby-winning trainer has gone on to have immediate success recently. But Cherie DeVaux and her trainer, Jose Ortiz, who triumphed at Churchill Downs recently, are breaking myths, and this time, Supercharger is at the heart of it all as they claimed the $120k purse.

Trainers with long-shot odds after winning their first Kentucky Derby especially struggle to continue their streak. Eric Reed’s record proves that perfectly as he hasn’t won a single G1 race since the 2022 Derby. Much like Cherie DeVaux’s Golden Tempo (30-1), his horse Rich Strike was a serious long-shot (80-1) that won the Kentucky Derby. However, Cherie immediately tasted success.

She paired up with the Derby-winning trainer to win a crucial race. Once again, it was at Churchill Downs as Supercharger and Jose Ortiz flew forward to a first-place finish in Race Five at the iconic venue. It wasn’t guaranteed, especially given that the colt has never won a race in his career so far, finishing as high as second before this. That came at Keeneland in April, which marked the horse’s first-ever podium, having finished fourth and sixth before that.

However, in the fifth race on May 9th, things took a turn. A Maiden Special Weight, Supercharger strode out from the second gate but struggled initially. It was only thanks to Ortiz’s hand that the duo stayed in the race, keeping pace with the lead pack throughout. Then on the second turn, the 2026 Kentucky Derby winning jockey made his move as the lead pack faded.

Even then, despite having the odds-on favourite to win, Cherie DeVaux was up against it. After all, the 44-year-old was facing experienced trainers like Kenneth McPeek and Todd Pletcher. Not only that, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s son, Riley, continued his streak as he entered the race. Yet, in the end, all three of them failed to challenge as Supercharger blitzed past them in the final stretch.

He finished 1¾ lengths ahead of second-place Swerve, ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr, giving DeVaux yet another win. It marks her third since the Kentucky Derby and her fifth podium in seven races. An incredible run of races for the trainer, although that shouldn’t be surprising. Since mid-April, DeVaux has won 7 of 20 races and podiumed in all but five.

That makes what happened at the 2026 Kentucky Derby even more remarkable for Cherie DeVaux. Although it went exactly how she dreamed it would, long before Golden Tempo crossed the finish line.

Cherie DeVaux opens up on how she dreamed about winning the Derby

It wasn’t a guaranteed win by any means. If anything, Golden Tempo was one of the least favourites with 30-1 odds of winning the Kentucky Derby. The colt even proved why he was given those odds, halfway into the race with him and Jose Ortiz sitting in dead last. Then the camera panned to Cherie DeVaux, and suddenly, almost in an instant, the look on her face changed.

In the end, he finished barely a nose ahead of Renegade, the odds-on favourite to win. And yet, it all played out exactly how Cherie DeVaux dreamed it would.

“This is weird, but as I was falling asleep on Thursday, this is exactly what I saw happening,” DeVaux told CNN. “The stretch run, that’s exactly how I imagined it playing out.”

That’s not surprising at all, given that DeVaux had faith in her horse from the get-go. Even Ortiz, the jockey, called him lazy, but as a trainer, DeVaux knew he needed more. It’s why she opted to race him in the Louisiana Derby for his lead-in race. And her plan worked perfectly. 

So much so that on race day, she told partial owner Daisy Phipps Pulito, “I think the horse can win.” That proved almost prophetic in the end, given the results. Now, with Jose Ortiz and Cherie DeVaux thriving together again, the Kentucky Derby win feels less like a miracle. 

Instead, it’s starting to look like the beginning of a partnership that simply knows how to deliver when it matters most.

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