THE sign of the cross was seen on the conquering side when Golden Tempo, a 23-1 outsider, galloped to victory in a famous horse race, the Kentucky Derby, in the United States.

Golden Tempo produced an unstoppable run from last place to pass 17 other runners and snatch the $3.1-million prize under his jockey, José Ortiz, who beat his older brother, Irad, into second place, on Renegade. The brothers were both seeking their first Derby victory, and, as they passed the winning post locked together, they grasped hands in a gesture of brotherly love.

José Ortiz is a Christian, and, before the race, he rebutted the verdict of racing experts that he had no possible chance of being involved in the finish. He said he drew up the text from Philippians 4.13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Speaking of his rivalry on the racetrack with his brother, José Ortiz said: “We both dreamed of that moment. Just to see him so happy for me right away, it was amazing. When we come out of the jocks’ room, we are brothers. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The story of Golden Tempo’s victory does not stop there. Beneath the visor he wears when he is racing, Golden Tempo carries a huge white cross that covers much of his face. It is common for horses to have white streaks, or “blazes” on their foreheads, but the cross on Golden Tempo is particularly large and symmetrical.

A more secular kind of faith was the key to Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, who became the first woman to win the coveted “Run for the Roses”, as the Kentucky Derby is known. Having set up on her own a few years ago, she was struggling to make a breakthrough. “In the summer of 2017, I was kind of at a crossroads in life,” she said. “My husband told me that I owed it to myself to at least try. He had the faith in me, and he saw what I didn’t see, and believed in me.”

John Karter is a freelance journalist and author.