Brown Saddles Formidable Quartet in First Lady Stakes

The First Lady Stakes (G1T), a one-mile turf race Oct. 5 for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and older at Keeneland, will be a battle between a trio of Twirling Candy   daughters against an armada from trainer Chad Brown's barn.

Brown will saddle a formidable quartet among 11 entries in the $750,000 stakes being run as race 8. The New York trainer brings three grade 1 winners and one grade 2 winner who has multiple grade 1-placed performances. The grade 1 winners include Peter Brant's Gina Romantica  (Into Mischief  ), who won last year's First Lady Stakes; Juddmonte Farms' homebred Whitebeam  (Caravaggio ), who beat Gina Romantica in her last start when she won the Diana Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course; and, Chili Flag  (Cityscape), who was unplaced in the Diana but had previously strung together three consecutive graded stakes wins that included the Just a Game Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga. Chili Flag is campaigned by Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, and Michael Kisber.

Head of Plains Partners also has Fluffy Socks  in the field with Brown. The 6-year-old daughter of Slumber   also ran unplaced in the Diana but in May added the Gallorette Stakes (G3T) to her winning record. To date, she has won or placed in 13 graded stakes.

Facing these four are two mares and a filly by Lane's End's top 10 general leading sire Twirling Candy. Leading the trio is Whitham Thoroughbreds' homebred Walkathon , who is Twirling Candy's chief earner for the year so far and comes into the First Lady off three consecutive stakes wins. The 5-year-old bay mare most recently won the Aug. 31 $1,494,840 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T) by three lengths.

After a fifth-place finish in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs in May where Walkthon led through much of the race but faltered at the end, trainer Ian Wilkes gave her a freshening, regrouped, and mapped out a plan for the fall.

"The plan was to try for one of big purses at Kentucky Downs," Wilkes said. "We got that so now we are looking for some icing on top of the cake and get a grade 1 here for her résumé."

What he sees in the First Lady, however, is a field deep in exceptional talent.

"This is what you get when you run at Keeneland in a grade 1. There are 11 horses and you could make a case for 10 of them," he said. "Our filly is in good form and that is all you can ask. We are just so proud of her because she tries and always give her best."

The other Twirling Candy entrants are Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran's 4-year-old filly Ag Bullet , who last out won the 6 1/2-furlong Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs, and 6-year-old grade 1-placed, grade 2 winner Evvie Jets , who will be making her final career start in the First Lady for the estate of Robert Amendola.

"She's just really good right now," said trainer Richard Baltas about Ag Bullet. "It's like she has just come into her own. I think 6 1/2 to a mile is best for her."

At Kentucky Downs, Ag Bullet set a course record of 1:14.19 in Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes and captured her fourth win in five starts this year.

Evvie Jets, who has earned nearly $955,000, ran third in the First Lady last year, which provided the impetus to make Keeneland the site of her last race.

"She ran good here last year at a mile and she is proven at the distance, so we thought we'd try again," said trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci, who also is ending his training career after Saturday. "I am going to take a break and step back. My older brother Ilkay will be taking over."

Kantarmaci's stable has 20 horses in training in New York.