Trainer Cherie DeVaux Talks Golden Tempo’s Kentucky Derby Win with Rich Eisen | Full Interview

0:00 All right, I'll be very honest with you.

0:01 The the show started slow, but it's going to finish with a massive finish.

0:05 And if there's anybody who knows what that's like, Look at you, Rich Eisen.

0:08 Uh-huh.

0:09 Mhm.

0:10 It's the trainer of Golden Temple, everybody, right here on the Rich Eisen Show.

0:14 Sherry DeVaux is kind enough to get Oh, amazing.

0:18 before this show is over.

0:19 Great to meet you, Sherry.

0:20 Congratulations to you.

0:21 Nice [clears throat] to meet you.

0:22 Thanks for having me on.

0:23 What is life like for you last 48 hours for you?

0:27 Um it's been a whirlwind,

0:31 [laughter]

0:29 to be uh lack a little bit of sleep, but a lot of celebrating.

0:33 So, it's been fun.

0:35 Um still hasn't sunk in that uh we have won a Kentucky Derby.

0:41 [laughter]

0:40 It still has not sunk in to you, huh?

0:42 No.

0:43 No.

0:43 I've been I've been on the go uh for the last uh

0:47 we went out and celebrated uh appropriately and um flew to New York,

0:52 and I've been on the go ever since.

0:54 I And again, I appreciate you working uh

0:56 the Rich Eisen Show into uh your your schedule here.

1:00 Um and the thing that went viral the most was your reaction.

1:05 Have you watched that back multiple times, Sherry?

1:07 Your reaction?

1:08 I have.

1:09 And and I'm just glad I didn't say any cuss words [laughter]

1:16 What that would that would normally have been par for the course?

1:19 I think most people that know me uh are surprised that it wasn't.

1:23 Oh, really?

1:24 That you worked that you worked clean.

1:26 That's surprising.

1:28 I did.

1:28 I I was so overtaken I I was just overtaken with emotion.

1:33 Um it it's I didn't I had all the faith in Golden Temple,

1:38 had all the faith in Jose,

1:40 but um winning the Kentucky Derby is a really hard feat.

1:43 And um to go out there and and do it on your first try um was just overwhelming.

1:50 You know, and again, it was just a remarkable run.

1:54 Um and then your reaction to it was just spectacular,

1:57 and the radio audience has returned the Rich Eisen Show.

2:00 Sherry DeVaux, the Kentucky Derby winning trainer,

2:03 is joining us here on the Rich Eisen

2:05 Show after Golden Temple went from last to first.

2:08 And so again, your reaction to it When

2:10 when did you realize that this was feasible here?

2:15 Like it was happening for you?

2:19 Um uh well, when he made his run, I thought he he's coming, he's moving.

2:25 He has a lot of a full head of steam when he's making his run.

2:29 I picked him up at about the 3/16 pole, um the top of the stretch.

2:33 And um uh you know, he he he's a lightly raced colt,

2:38 and he can get a little goofy,

2:39 so um I was worried when he came to Renegade,

2:44 and I read that um he might kind of idle or want to hang with his buddy.

2:49 So, you know, it wasn't up until he got to the wire and had

2:52 his his head his nose out in front

2:54 that I really could comprehend that he had won.

2:58 Can can you give a little bit more detail to that?

3:00 Cuz obviously, you know,

3:01 the story with Renegade and the jockeys and is now more well known,

3:06 but you as a trainer were thinking your goofy horse might just want

3:10 to just turn the Kentucky Derby into a little joyride with a pal?

3:14 Like is that what you're really thinking as a trainer?

3:16 No.

3:17 No, it's just in the moment you're you're I

3:20 was encouraging them on and excited because I've hope,

3:23 you know, I see him going, and this is all in retrospect, right?

3:26 Like please keep going,

3:28 and I There were a couple times I had horses that had just missed

3:32 this last week that just kind of came up or a horse got to him,

3:35 and the horse was maybe too far outside, so they wouldn't engage and keep going.

3:41 Um there's a lot going on, and there's a lot of noise, there's a lot of cameras,

3:45 and the horses you know, they are running,

3:47 but they can be easily distracted by everything.

3:49 And who were you with?

3:51 Who who were the people that were watching the race with you, Sherry?

3:54 Um on my right side is Steve Bick,

3:56 who's a career-long friend of mine, very close friend.

4:00 Mhm.

4:00 Um my best friend, Elise Jacobs,

4:03 and then my assistant um Olivia and my stepdaughter, Reagan.

4:09 My husband and I rarely watch races together, so that?

4:12 Um because if it goes bad, we we need our space,

4:15 so um we can collect our thoughts instead

4:19 of bouncing them off of each other when they're negative.

4:23 Mhm.

4:22 Okay.

4:23 And so, um the moment uh where you then see Golden Temple,

4:30 what was that like for you after it was all over and the roses were delivered?

4:34 What was that like?

4:35 Um it was surreal.

4:37 I started my career at Churchill Downs 22 years ago.

4:41 Um and to think that I'm standing there in in the hallowed ground

4:47 in the infield of the racetrack was just overcoming um of of all kinds,

4:53 you know, it's amazing.

4:54 I'm so proud of of Golden Temple first, and Jose helped you know,

4:59 he got him there, and then just uh depth of gratitude to my staff,

5:05 my assistant trainers, um you know, every all the ground help,

5:09 and um I was just so excited for the ownership

5:12 group of um Santa Anita Stables and Phipps Stables.

5:15 Well, this video that I also saw,

5:17 cuz there's so many different videos over the last 48 hours I've seen,

5:21 uh this one caught my eye.

5:23 Uh your relationship with Golden Temple, what are we seeing right now?

5:27 Um I I'm a hands-on trainer, and I just love interacting with the horses.

5:33 He's He's one horse, but I try to play with as many as I can every day.

5:37 I'm a 44-year-old little horse girl at heart.

5:40 Um but I'm just so proud of him,

5:42 and he's got this wonderful personality where a lot of 3-year-old

5:46 colts will take your arm off if you try to do

5:49 that, but he just takes it all in and kind

5:51 of is a little bit of a ham about it all.

5:53 Mhm.

5:55 Why is your profession so male-dominated, Sherry?

6:00 Uh Um that is a good question, and I'm not quite sure how to answer that.

6:04 I I don't feel it's a sexist thing.

6:06 I I understand that women trainers are underrepresented,

6:09 but there are a whole lot of women that work in the industry,

6:13 and they are the backbone of a lot of stables.

6:16 So, um you know, I'm just not sure why

6:19 a lot of females just are not at the next level.

6:23 Um it's scary.

6:24 It's it's overwhelming.

6:26 It's it's a tough industry to break into, male or female.

6:29 Um and I'm I'm hoping that, you know, I did it,

6:33 and maybe there and hopefully a lot more will follow suit.

6:36 So, um is it because some horse owners are are not trusting, or what what is it?

6:45 Like what's the glass ceiling here that you may have just broken?

6:48 I'm trying to figure that out.

6:50 I I'm the same as well.

6:52 Um Again, I when I when I started, I started back at zero.

6:57 Um came from top training.

7:00 I was the assistant trainer for Chad Brown.

7:01 We were top in the country um at that point.

7:06 And I I again had to rebuild myself.

7:09 Nothing was given to me.

7:10 I I started back at zero.

7:12 Um and and rebuilt my stable and kept trudging along.

7:17 Um I I don't know.

7:18 I I I don't want to I'm going to address the elephant in the room.

7:22 I don't I have a stepdaughter, Reagan.

7:23 I don't have any children of my own,

7:25 so and that was by choice because I chose to put

7:28 a career instead of having um you know, my own family.

7:33 Um and that was early on because I'm one

7:36 of those people I'm going to give everything my all,

7:38 so I felt maybe if I if I had a a a couple children,

7:43 I would feel like if I my career would take away from that.

7:47 And if I were with my children,

7:48 I feel like my career would take it would take away from my career,

7:52 and that's just my thinking.

7:54 Um you know, I have a ton of respect for any working mother.

7:58 Um You know, and I I do have Reagan.

8:00 She's my stepdaughter, but it's a it's a bit of a unique situation.

8:03 She's David um is very active.

8:06 We're both very active, but uh you know,

8:08 I also can travel and and do without feeling

8:11 like I have to be tied down to home.

8:13 Well, congratulations on the Derby.

8:16 Uh you know, the next final question here is what about Pimlico?

8:19 What about the Preakness?

8:20 What do we have, Sherry?

8:21 Uh so, we're tabling that for the end of the week.

8:24 Um all of our runners get about 5 days of really easy days, through walk days.

8:29 They go to the track and jog.

8:31 Um and then we'll assess his energy level when he starts back galloping,

8:34 um which will be Thursday and Friday.

8:35 So, um we'll make a you know,

8:37 we'll we'll the ownership group and I will talk between now and then,

8:41 but we're going to let him dictate that decision.

8:45 Well, I appreciate you taking the time here.

8:46 Thank you, cuz I know you're really busy.

8:48 And in advance, you know,

8:49 we produce Women Sports Now in conjunction with a whole bunch of our partners.

8:53 I know you're on that show Thursday.

8:54 I look forward to seeing you getting a little bit more time there.

8:57 Thank you.

8:58 Appreciate it.

8:58 Wonderful.

8:58 Thank Thank you for having me on.

9:00 You bet.

9:00 That's Sherry DeVaux.

9:01 She's won it all, ladies and gentlemen.

9:04 Hey, you made it all the way to the end.

9:05 Thanks for that.

9:06 Check us out every single day streaming live on Disney Plus and the ESPN app,

9:11 12:00 to 3:00 Eastern.