LEXINGTON, Ky. – Gina Romantica has become as automatic at Keeneland in October as her trainer, Chad Brown. Gina Romantica won a Grade 1 turf race here for the third year in a row, landing the Grade 1, $750,000 First Lady Stakes on Saturday for the second straight season. Brown now has won the First Lady seven – not a misprint – years in a row. He swept the top three placings Saturday with Chili Flag a clear second and Fluffy Socks just up for third. Brown-trained horses finished first and second in the last three renewals of the First Lady and were first, second, and third in 2020, just as this year. That Brown dominated came as no surprise. That Ag Bullet went favored over Gina Romantica, 5-2 to 3-1 – that was truly surprising. :: SAVE BIG with a DRF Keeneland Handicapping Package Ag Bullet crossed and cleared from an outside draw to set a lively pace over a glib grass course but had no answer when Gina Romantica came calling. “She ran super. She really, really ran well,” Brown said. Jose Ortiz, winning his second straight stakes on the card after Zeitlos captured the Thoroughbred Club of America, engineered an ideal pocket trip, though Gina Romantica played her role perfectly. She broke like a rocket, giving Ortiz the tactical latitude to choose his spot. “That was key, very key,” Ortiz said. “She put herself right into the race. And she loves this course.” No doubt about that. At age 3, Gina Romantica won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, and last year, at 11-1, she ran down another Brown-trained Keeneland lover, the brilliant In Italian. Gina Romantica clocked 1:33.80 for the mile and had two lengths on Chili Flag at the finish. Chili Flag had a clean trip rallying from 11th but could make no late ground on the winner. Fluffy Socks, two lengths behind Chili Flag, came late to get a neck in front of Ag Bullet, who’d set splits of 22.81 and 46.01 while racing in the clear. Evvie Jets ran a strong race to finish fifth, a nose behind Ag Bullet, and was followed by Ireland shipper Tarawa, who lost all chance with a sluggish beginning, Special Wan, Walkathon, Whitebeam, Implicated, and Safeen. Owner Peter Brant won his fourth straight First Lady with a 5-year-old mare bred by Machmer Hall Farm. Gina Romantica, now a six-time winner from 16 starts, is by Into Mischief out of Special Me, by Unbridled’s Song. She went from the First Lady last year to finish a good fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Maybe she’ll return to California for another try in November, though Brown said he’d advise Brant to instead await the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes. Either way, Gina Romantica will become a broodmare after her 2024 campaign – probably the only reason she won’t win again next October at Keeneland. – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.