Ag Bullet Aims to Rebound in Franklin

The clock is counting down on the remarkable career of Ag Bullet, but trainer Richard Baltas is hoping there are still two shots in the chamber left to fire. The first of those comes Oct. 11 in the $400,000 Franklin Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland. The Twirling Candy mare, owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran, is entered as Hip 166 Nov. 2 in Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale. Baltas said that this year will definitely be the last on a racetrack for the 6-year-old mare as she will either be sold at the "Night of the Stars" sale or bred in 2027 by Nguyen and Tran, likely to return to a sales ring in foal later on. That leaves only two more possible races on the agenda: the Franklin and, if she runs well, a start three weeks later in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T), a race she has hit the board in each of the last two seasons. "I'd like to see her run really well here and then I might wheel her back in the Breeders' Cup," Baltas said. "If she runs good here, I'll probably run her right back." The speedy mare is coming off an uncharacteristic poor performance in the Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes (G1T) at Kentucky Downs, a race she had won each of the previous two years but she finished a fading eighth Aug. 29. However, there could have been some reasons to the effort. For one, it was an extremely hot and humid day in Franklin, Ky. Secondly, as Ag Bullet was moved to the outside of pacesetting eventual winner In Our Time, she was clipped by another horse and sustained a superficial cut on her left hind leg. "It wasn't real bad, but it was enough to where it was bleeding real good after the race," Baltas said. "I don't know if it caused her not to fire like she usually does or not. But she seemed to come out of the race good, she scoped clean, she came out of the race well." Since then Ag Bullet has logged three works over Santa Anita Park's Tapeta training track, most recently firing a bullet half-mile in :46 Oct. 3. The mare's career has been a special one for Baltas, who has had her in his care for all but the first four of her 19 career starts. Her highlight victory came when defeating the boys in the 2025 Jaipur Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, and she has won an additional three graded stakes and placed in five grade 1s during a career that has earned more than $3 million. "It's been great. She's not an easy horse to deal with, but she's all heart," Baltas said while reflecting on her career. "It's been a great run for the owners and me, and I'm truly going to miss her when she goes on to her next career, which is going to be this year. "I'm proud of her accomplishments. She's still very sound and seems to be pretty happy; that means a lot to me." Hall of Famer John Velazquez returns to her saddle as she breaks from post 7 of 8 in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint. The Competition Among her competition is Tracy Farmer's Time to Dazzle, who won this race in 2025 but has yet to visit the winner's circle since. However, that doesn't mean she's had a bad year. Trained by dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse, the 5-year-old Not This Time mare kicked off the season in Saudi Arabia, running a solid fourth in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2T) against males. She returned to North America for five consecutive graded runs and finished within 4 lengths of the winner each time. She finished second in her two most recent starts, including the Ladies Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs. She also adds Irad Ortiz Jr. to the saddle for this start, which would make any runner a serious threat. Likely to keep Ag Bullet some company in the early stages of the race are BSF Equine Athlete's stakes-placed Itzel for trainer John Ennis and Thomas Bachman's grade 2 winner Kehoe Beach for trainer Wesley Ward. Both mares are constantly part of the early pace. Ward also trains multiple graded-placed Shoot It True for Ice Wine Stable and Smart Choice Stable, who exits a 3-length triumph over allowance optional claiming foes Aug. 13 at Saratoga. The wild card of the race could be Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman's Usha, a New York-bred daughter of Tiz the Law who makes her first start on turf. Winner of the La Brea Stakes (G1) last winter, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert ended a two-race losing skid and returned her to the winner's circle at Churchill Downs in the Open Mind Stakes Sept. 12. Yet, despite winning, Baffert makes an additional change by adding blinkers for the Franklin. Rounding out the field are graded winners Pondering for Godolphin and trainer Brendan Walsh and Movin' On Up for Ken Ramsey and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.