Ag Bullet repeats as Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf Sprint winner
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The connections of the excellent turf mare Ag Bullet set forth three major goals for the 2025 season. Two down, one to go.
After winning the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 8 at Saratoga, beating males in her first major objective of the season, Ag Bullet returned to Kentucky Downs, the site of her breakout performance one year ago, and hit another bull's-eye, scoring a repeat victory in the Grade 2, $2 million Ladies Turf Sprint.
It did not come as easy as last year, when Ag Bullet won this race by more than five lengths, earning an elite 106 Beyer Speed Figure, but Ag Bullet held bravely Saturday after carving out a strong pace under Luis Saez, who rode Ag Bullet for the first time. Simply In Front closed well for second, three-quarters of a length behind the winner and a half-length in front of third-place Jody’s Pride.
Simply In Front’s connections also had the option of the Ladies Turf over one mile, and while trainer Eddie Kenneally picked the right spot, he ran into a slightly better horse. Kehoe Beach, the second choice, tracked the pace and faded to seventh.
After breaking like a rocket, Ag Bullet ($5.34) set splits of 21.74 and 43.24 on the way to a final time of 1:13.13 for 6 1/2 furlongs. That shattered the course record of 1:14.14 Ag Bullet set in last year’s renewal of the Ladies Sprint, though track records have steadily been falling early this meet over a firm course playing exceedingly fast.
Richard Baltas trains Ag Bullet for owners Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran, who purchased her as a yearling for $220,000. Bred by H & E Ranch in Kentucky, and thus eligible for the full winner’s share of this $2 million race, Ag Bullet boosted her bankroll into the vicinity of $3 million. The 5-year-old is by Twirling Candy out of Noble Grey, by Forestry, and now has won eight of her 15 races.
Ag Bullet started her career with a different trainer and missed nearly a year of racing before returning under Baltas’ care in February 2024. She began her campaign this year with a troubled seventh-place finish in the Unbridled Sidney at Churchill Downs before winning the six-furlong Jaipur by two lengths. Baltas took her back to California, freshened the mare, and got her on a steady Del Mar work pattern before her return to Kentucky Downs.
One final major goal this season: The Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, in which Ag Bullet finished a closing third, beaten a neck, last November at Del Mar. At five furlongs, the BC Sprint falls on the short end of Ag Bullet’s distance range, but the mare is versatile, game, and capable, and Baltas figures to have her ready for a serious bid at a third major win this season.
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