The $400,000 First Lady Stakes (G2) featured older fillies and mares at 1 mile on turf. 80-1 outsider Honour Colony was allowed a 2 length lead early, setting fractions of 23.72 and 48.41 before 7-2 third choice Precious Kitten, who had settled in behind her in second, moved up to take over the lead, getting 3/4 in 1:12.98. Precious Kitten held the lead to mid-stretch, but 3-1 second choice Vacare, who had stalked the pace in fourth the whole way, came out three wide into the lane and wore down Precious Kitten through the final 1/16 to prevail by 1/2 a length in 1:35.85. It was a long 3 1/4 lengths back to 8-1 Quite A Bride in third, and another 1/2 length to 7-5 favorite Lady of Venice in fourth.
Winning jockey Corey Nakatani said, "I was able to get in a really good spot, and she ran a great race. She really showed how much she likes Keeneland."
Christophe Lorieul, assistant to winning trainer Christophe Clement added, "She's been very consistent. She was 4-for-4 last year and obviously loves Keeneland. We arrived here 4 days ago and she shipped well. It was a very good setup for us. There was enough speed on the inside and she was very relaxed. She was gutsy at the 1/8 pole and had enough at the end."
Results chart
