ARCADIA, Calif. – The first 10 months of her training career were challenging. The last five months have been exhilarating. The career trajectory for Cherie DeVaux over the last six years is impressive, albeit hardly surprising. An assistant to Chad Brown for nearly eight years, DeVaux ventured out on her own in 2018 with no horses and mainly the support of her husband, bloodstock agent David Ingordo. DeVaux now has approximately 85 horses in training, primarily based in Kentucky, and is at Santa Anita this week with three contenders in the Breeders’ Cup, including She Feels Pretty, the 4-1 morning-line favorite for Friday’s $1 million Juvenile Fillies Turf. “So exciting,” DeVaux said. “I wasn’t really thinking about that until the field was drawn, so now it’s setting in. Really, there’s no pressure, she’s doing great. I think she’s a deserving morning-line favorite. She’s going to run her race.” On Saturday, DeVaux also will send out More Than Looks in the Mile and Stage Raider in the Dirt Mile. :: Breeders' Cup Shop: DRF Past Performances available now It would be somewhat apropos if DeVaux were to win the Juvenile Fillies Turf. During her years as an assistant for Brown, she worked with some of the best turf fillies in the country, including Lady Eli and Rushing Fall, both of whom won the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Those were two of nine Breeders’ Cup winners DeVaux was associated with during her tenure with Brown. But charting her own path was always DeVaux’s goal. She just needed a little push, which she got from Ingordo. “Working for Chad, there’s not really a good time to leave,” DeVaux said. “I met David the last year I was there, we talked about our future together and what that would look like. He’s the one that really pushed me to go outside my comfort zone. It seemed overwhelming. I needed somebody to be there for me and support me, and he was great in that regard.” DeVaux, 41, started her first horse in May 2018, but her first win didn’t come until March 2019 with her 29th starter. Her first stakes victory came in 2021 with Gam’s Mission and things snowballed from there. DeVaux’s win total has increased each year she’s been training. Through Tuesday, DeVaux has won 47 races in 2023, 11 stakes, and her purse earnings are $4,636,301. She’s won 10 stakes since June 10. “As we get more horses, it’s expected to do better than the last year,” DeVaux said. “I take great pride in just when things are going well and moving in the right direction, but I don’t hyperfocus on those numbers.” A daughter of 2014 BC Mile winner Karakontie, She Feels Pretty gave DeVaux her first Grade 1 win when she took the Natalma impressively on Sept. 10 at Woodbine. DeVaux had She Feels Pretty entered in the P.G. Johnson Stakes on Aug. 30 at Saratoga, but scratched when the race came off the turf. “She trains well enough on the dirt to keep her in, instead we went to the Natalma,” DeVaux said. “We were grateful the plans changed.” She Feels Pretty is one of about eight horses DeVaux trains for Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who race under the Lael Stables banner. The Jacksons, who also employ Arnaud Delacour, Mike Stidham, and Wesley Ward, were looking to expand their trainer roster and DeVaux was recommended to them. They have since hired Ingordo and Doug Cauthen to help with the selection and purchasing of yearlings. :: Get Breeders' Cup Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team when you purchase a BC VIP Package! “She does a great job. She’s very conscientious and covers all the bases,” Roy Jackson said. DeVaux, who is assisted by her sister Adrianne, trains Stage Raider for John and Tanya Gunther. Previously trained by Brown, Stage Raider, a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify, was twice well-beaten in the third-level allowance condition at Belmont Park before being moved to DeVaux. “The Gunthers wanted to see if a change would help,” DeVaux said. “The expectations were to get black type for a horse that has the pedigree to be a stallion.” DeVaux had Stage Raider based at Keeneland during the summer, where it was quieter and she was able to take advantage of being able to turn him out in nearby paddocks. “I think mentally that got him retooled where he’s running at the level he is now,” DeVaux said. Stage Raider won a minor stakes at Ellis Park in August before finishing second to Zozos in the Grade 3 Ack Ack on Sept. 30 at Churchill Downs. More Than Looks, a 3-year-old son of More Than Ready, is coming off a powerful performance winning the Jefferson Cup on Sept. 30 at Churchill. The way he performed that day made DeVaux and the owners, Victory Racing Partners, bypass the Bryan Station at Keeneland and take a shot in this spot. “He’s got a really nice turn of foot,” DeVaux said. “He’s been green throughout his early races. His last race, he put his head down and ran past the horses and flew home.” Regardless of what happens at the Breeders’ Cup, DeVaux’s success seems like it’s only beginning. She said she has a plethora of unraced 2-year-olds that are coming along at their own pace. “The 2-year-olds make up almost half of the number we have,” DeVaux said. “They’re still in development. I’m not in a hurry to get any of them to the races, unless they make it on their own. The whole idea is to develop careers, not a short window of performance.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.