Assistant trainer Enrique Miranda could not help but reflect on his life after watching Golden Tempo, a colt he gallops every morning, stage a marvelous last-to-first rally to win the Kentucky Derby.
Miranda briefly thought all was lost when Golden Tempo, who is not to be rushed, settled into last in the 18-horse field. For an instant, it appeared he had far too much to do and was hopelessly behind. His exercise rider knows that feeling of hopelessness well.
Miranda, 33, lost his way in his early 20’s, dealing with substance abuse and reaching his nadir when he slept in a horse’s stall at Santa Anita for three nights.
“I had no place to go,” he said. “I’d burned a lot of bridges. I really wasn’t making good life choices. I was going nowhere fast.”
At a friend’s suggestion, he contacted the Winners Foundation, which assists members of the California racing community with various issues. They arranged for him to enter a six-month rehabilitation program in November 2018. He was skeptical for the first two months, constantly telling fellow patients he planned to leave the next day.
Like Golden Tempo, he persevered.
His life enjoyed a wonderful upswing on June 17, 2019. That is when he began dating Erika (she remembers the date). They were married last June 28 after climbing Pikes Peak.
That was only fitting. Life has been a difficult climb since both of them are in recovery.
Miranda gazes at Golden Tempo after he won the Kentucky Derby.Lillian Davis photo
“When we first started dating, we were really struggling,” Erika admitted. “We were in early recovery.”
There were missteps and tears and breakups. In the end, they were two people who desperately needed one another.
“I knew he was just full of potential,” Erika said.
Miranda does not care to think where his life might be if he had continued to walk alone. “She’s been through it all with me, the ups and downs,” he said. “She’s always been my number one supporter.”
He began working in construction after completing his rehabilitation program. As he did so, he began recalling his boyhood and teenage years. His father, Frank, was a trainer in northern California. He had essentially grown up in the barn, mucking stalls and learning to ride. The more he thought about it, the more appealing a return to that life became.
On a rainy day in November 2019, he headed to Santa Anita and asked well-respected trainer John Sadler if he might need a helping hand.
“He took a chance on me,” said a grateful Miranda.
He was an immediate fit and developed a close relationship with Juan Leyva, Sadler’s long-time assistant.
“I want to learn everything,” he told Leyva. “I don’t want to just ride.” With the guidance of Sadler and Leyva, he eventually obtained his license to become an assistant trainer.
Miranda and Cherie DeVaux, who will forever be known as the first woman to train a Derby winner, had interacted a number of times before he made an off-hand comment one day that he would welcome the opportunity to live in Kentucky.
That was all DeVaux needed to hear. He made the big move and joined DeVaux’s operation in November 2024. He has benefited as much from that relationship as he did with Sadler.
“She’s very observant,” he said of DeVaux. “She knows everything that’s going on in her barn. You might think she’s not paying attention, but she sees everything.”
Enrique Miranda aboard Golden Tempo at Churchill DownsNellie Carlson photo
Miranda has been aboard Golden Tempo each morning since January. “He does everything right,” he said. “He looks back as if to ask, ‘What do you want me to do?’ I never really connected with a horse like that.”
Erika believes that a special bond exists between her husband and the Derby winner. “He is so dedicated to this horse, and there’s a reason why,” she said. “It’s just because he knows what it is like to be last.”
Golden Tempo’s responsiveness to jockey Jose Ortiz allowed the longshot to defy the odds in the Run for the Roses just as Miranda’s willingness to take his cue from a long list of people eventually made all the difference for him.
Golden Tempo’s triumph left Miranda and his wife with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment after all of the adversity they have endured. “We did it. We stuck it out, and we’re still here,” Erika said. “He won the Derby. It’s so amazing, and we’re so thrilled.”
Miranda would not trade his testing journey with anyone. “To go from where I was to where I am now, it makes it so much sweeter,” he said.
DeVaux’s accomplishment will undoubtedly inspire girls to want to follow her path. While Miranda knows he still has much to learn, he said he, too, has been inspired to open a stable.
“Maybe one day,” Miranda said, understanding like never before what may be possible.
Enrique Miranda, left, walks with Golden Tempo after his Kentucky Derby triumphEquiSport Photos
This story was originally published by Paulick Report on May 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Paulick Report as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
