First Lady S.

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux doesn’t get many calls from trainer Todd Pletcher, but when he does, he takes the mount.

And so it was that Desormeaux found himself speeding out to the early lead in the $400,000, Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland aboard Photo Call, opening a large margin, and leaving champion Tepin with too much work to do in her bid for a repeat victory.

“Todd told me to cover her up, but that was not going to happen,” Desormeaux said, and thankfully the audible worked out.

A 29-1 shot, Photo Call stole the one-mile First Lady by 2 3/4 lengths and left Tepin in her wake in second at the finish line. It was the first time since August 2015 that Tepin was beaten, snapping an eight-race win streak for the mare who trounced males in her past two starts.

Photo Call returned $61.40, $10.60, and $5.60 across the board.—Claire Novak