First Lady (Grade 1)- $750.000 Purse
KEE- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
One Mile on the Turf
October 5, 2024

An outstanding field has assembled for the 20th running of the Grade 1 First Lady at KEE, in hopes of taking the top share of the $750.000 purse that is being offered. That’s amount that was first reached in 2022 and is the high point for the race. We’ve seen some greats of the game get the win here, including Broomsticks Copy in 2015, and then La Terrifiant in both 2019 and 2020. She’s not going to be here again, but the one who was victorious last year will be, and that is Demanding Commander, doing so for Mb Stables. We’ll talk more about her as we do our run through the field, but she certainly has a good chance of duplicating La Terrifiant’s achievement of winning this race twice. However, it will not be easy, as she must contend with the likes of Painville, her own stablemate, Wander, and other heavyweights in this field of seven. Let’s meet the field, now:

1- Wild Cats (Smokey Stover, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- Enters the race on a three-race winning streak, starting with the $150.000 Benson Memorial Stakes at FG, and then two optional claimers at WO, each of which were run on yielding turf. Overall, she’s won seven of twelve but has not been battling the type of foes that she sees here. She had a one-off opportunity to do so last December in the Grade 1 American Oaks, but after running eighth there, she has not run graded again until now.

2- Demanding Commander (Mb Stables, ridden by W T Buick)- As mentioned, Demanding Commander won the First Lady last year, and that would send her into the BC Fillies and Mares Turf. She’d finish in the double digits there but has been on a mission to redeem herself for that immediately afterwards, winning five of her next six. This includes the Grade 1 Just A Game t SAR, and then the $1,500.000 KD Ladies Turf last time out. Nothing wrong with the race she didn’t win either, as she lost out in a photo at the Grade 1 Diana. Should run well here, and then, it will be back to do better in the BC.

3- Be Exceptional (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)- It’s been a great four old season for this filly, and she was exceptional the last time she was out there, grabbing the win in the Grade 2 Flower Bowl. Sure, there were only four horses in the field, but a Grade 2 win is a Grade 2 win. In all, she’s won three times in seven starts over the year and earns her next chance to bring down some of the giants of the division.

4- Bella Latte (Fractious, ridden by D E Centeno)- She’s one of two three-year-olds in this field, and both of them are brought here by Fractious. This gives them a three-pound weight allowance on the older horses. Bella Latte has managed two graded wins this year, taking the Grade 2 Appalachian right here in April, and later on, it’s the Grade 3 Regret she’d win, that with a wire-to-wire effort. Cut back to a sprint last time out but will like going long again. Has run on wet tracks in three of her last four starts, but we should almost certainly be dry here.

5- Wander (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Last month was one of those rare times that Mb Stables chose to enter Demanding Commander and Wander into the same race, that being the KD Ladies Turf, and they ended up in a 1-2 finish. Wander was second, but still beaten by a length and a half. She’s been a good one, but she has been overshadowed by her stablemate, despite winning over $2,400.000 for her career. Two starts ago, she won the Grade 3 Matchmaker at MTH, by two lengths over second place Be Exceptional. Should run well again.

6- Painville (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by F Geroux)- Ran second to Demanding Commander in the First Lady last year, but got her revenge on her in her next race by winning the BC Fillies and Mares Turf! As a six-year-old in 2024, Painville has been good, winning the Grade 1 Wiley here in April as well as the Grade 2 Ballston up at SAR in her last race. Despite that, it still seems like Demanding Commander is the stronger option right now unless Painville turns the tables on her right here. Has four straight triple digit SRF’s, so certainly will be a contender here.

7- Reaper Lightning (Fractious, ridden by F Prat)- The second three-year-old in the race, but she has been hit and miss over the course of the year. She’s won three times, but one of them was an ELP open allowance she was dropped into after a mediocre effort in the BEL Oaks. Following the allowance, she was entered into a sprint at KD, but a big one, as it was the $2,000.000 Music City Stakes, and she did place fourth. Perhaps, she will do that again, but for now, it is a return to a distance she has been comfortable with.

Prediction: 2-6-5-3

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES