Tepin draws post 2 as heavy First Lady favorite

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Tepin has been assigned post 2 as the heavy favorite for the Grade 1 First Lady, one of five graded stakes set for a blockbuster Saturday card at Keeneland.

With Julien Leparoux riding for trainer Mark Casse, Tepin will be making her final start before trying for a repeat victory in the Nov. 5 Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita. The 5-year-old Tepin is unbeaten in six starts in three countries this year.

The First Lady leads into two other Grade 1 races, the Breeders’ Futurity and Shadwell Turf Mile, the latter of which drew a stellar lineup as the richest race of the 17-day fall meet.

Here’s a quick rundown:

◗ Grade 1, $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (race 9): Mondialiste and Kasaqui, the one-two finishers in the Arlington Million, are part of an outstanding field of 11 that also includes Grand Arch, Ironicus, Ring Weekend, and Tourist. Miss Temple City, who defeated males in the Grade 1 Maker’s 46 Mile in the spring, will dodge Tepin by running here.

◗ Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity (race 8): Graded stakes winners Bitumen, Gunnevera, and Classic Empire are among the 12 2-year-olds entered in this 1 1/16-mile race.

◗ Grade 1, $400,000 First Lady (race 7): Perhaps the chief opposition for Tepin in this one-mile turf race will come from Celestine, the winner of the Just a Game in June. Ten fillies and mares are entered.

◗ Grade 2, $250,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (race 6): Stonetastic will break from post 2 in a six-furlong race that also has Bendable, Sarah Sis, and Spelling Again in a field of eight fillies and mares.

◗ Grade 3, $150,000 Woodford (race 5): An oversubscribed field of turf sprinters includes Mongolian Saturday, the winner of the BC Turf Sprint here last year.