Saratoga: Ag Bullet stalks and scores in postponed Jaipur

Ag Bullet proved better than the boys Sunday when she stalked early en route to a two-length victory in the Grade 1, $500,000 Jaipur Stakes, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint on the turf at Saratoga.

The automatic qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint was postponed from Saturday, when six races on the Belmont Stakes undercard were rained off the turf course.

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Ridden by John Velázquez for trainer Richard Baltas, 5-year-old Ag Bullet (5-2) settled into second behind pacesetter Coppola (18-1) through an opening quarter-mile in 22.52 and a half-mile in 45.80 seconds.

Shortly after turning into the stretch, Ag Bullet collared Coppola and got five furlongs in 57.43 seconds before finishing with a time of 1:03.62 on a course that was rated good. My Boy Prince (6-1) finished second, Alogon (12-1) third and Arzak (9-1) fourth in the field of 10. Even-money favorite Think Big (1-1) got bottlenecked when he was awkward getting out of the gate, and he finished seventh.

Ag Bullet paid $7.70, $5.20 and $4.60; My Boy Prince $7.00 and $5.00; and Alogon $6.60.

Owned by Calvin Nguyen and Joey Tran, Ag Bullet is a gray mare whose name starts with the periodic-table designation for silver. By Twirling Candy out of Forestry mare Noble Grey, her most recent win had been in the Ladies Turf Spring (G2) in September at Kentucky Downs. Ag Bullet had lost four consecutive races since, most recently finishing seventh in the Unbridled Song (G3) on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard.

Already a millionaire, Ag Bullet ran her record to 14: 7-0-2.

Baltas indicated a return to Kentucky Downs could be in order for Ag Bullet on her way back to California for the Breeders’ Cup.

“I’m going to run her in Kentucky Downs in the race she won last year,” Baltas said. “Maybe she is a 5 1/2-(furlong) horse. I always wanted to stretch her out to 6 1/2 (or) a mile, but she might be better sprinting. We could run her one more, but I’m not in any rush.”