Does it seem like Saratoga and Del Mar, both meets winding to a close, just got started? Or that they’ve been going forever? In theoretical physics, you know, there’s no distinction between past and future. Theoretically, as well, we have three winners for you Saturday. Ladies Turf Sprint If rain falls at Kentucky Downs, all bets are off. The European-style grass course can quickly become a bog, and races difficult to analyze under the best circumstances become nearly random. On firmer footing, I’m high on Ag Bullet winning the Ladies Turf Sprint. Ag Bullet caught a softish Churchill course on her last trip to Kentucky and her first start outside California, and that did not go well. She finished ninth, beaten more than 23 lengths, in the Distaff Turf Mile. Don’t hold that against her – as long as Saturday rain holds off. Ag Bullet was sent out of the gate in that race when she doesn’t want to be rushed, trainer Richard Baltas said, and ran out of gas well before hitting the homestretch. The Distaff Turf Mile wasn’t some minor aberration. It’s the only race Ag Bullet has lost among six turf starts. And as well as she’s run at one mile, this extended 6 1/2-furlong trip should suit her perfectly. :: Kentucky Downs Package Available Now - Get All Access PPs, Picks, Players Guide for just $20! Realizing Ag Bullet hasn’t blown up the Beyer scale, no one has come close to her in 6 1/2-furlong races, and that includes a winning performance in her second start, first on grass. Left floundering in Ag Bullet’s wake that day was Ruby Nell, 7-2 on the Ladies Turf Sprint morning line compared to 12-1 on Ag Bullet. Those odds might not hold. Ag Bullet still will offer value. She beat no stars, not even dim ones, winning the Osunitas over one mile on July 21, but did administer a thorough trouncing. Moreover, Ag Bullet looks like a different horse now than a year ago. She has filled out considerably, just hitting maturity now in a career earlier interrupted, Baltas said, by minor ankle surgery. She has ample speed but will rate off the lead, too, if anyone goes winging. Here’s hoping that California form travels better to Kentucky than it did in the spring. Spinaway The filly Pondering, at least in terms of a betting proposition, has two things going for her: Luan Machado and a race at Ellis Park. The racing world, like the world at large, has contracted. It’s not like no one outside Kentucky knows Machado, yet he has ridden a grand total of two horses at Saratoga – both winners. One can expect some bump in the odds because of the relatively unfamiliar jockey walking onto the big stage. And Machado is a very good rider. Ellis Park teems this summer with expensive, talented 2-year-olds, more so than ever before. But that, too, won’t be properly priced into Pondering’s odds. The horse herself hardly could have won her debut more easily. I loved the way she traveled throughout, how she finished, and how she looked on video working at Saratoga, where trainer Brendan Walsh sent her for two drills. Pondering had plenty of zip to win over 5 1/2 furlongs, but she’ll be better going seven-eighths. She can rate just behind the leaders, and Walsh, who has his best group of 2-year-olds yet, did not send his horse just for a look at Lake George. Del Mar Handicap The theory of Balnikhov goes like this: The horse was not getting the job done as a miler, connections tried shortening him up to sprints, and they went the wrong direction. What Balnikhov needed was more distance, not less. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. Balnikhov never reached anything close to the top level during the French portion of his career, but when he came to hand it was at 1 1/8 and 1 3/16-mile trips. And while most of his starts in America have come at one mile or less, his two runs in the 1 1/8-mile Eddie Read yielded his two highest Beyers. Balnikhov wasn’t beating Johannes last out in the Read, but he’d have gotten closer with a cleaner passage through the homestretch, and once clear, he motored through a final furlong in 10.98 seconds. Workout video of two recent breezes is somewhat difficult to decipher, but when asked for something approaching the wire in his Aug. 25 move, Balnikhov gave all the right signs. And on Saturday, this 5-year-old gets the right distance, 1 3/8 miles, at the right price. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.