A 5-year-old mare named Ag Bullet, sired by Twirling Candy, achieved victory in the $2 million Never Say Die Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes held on August 30 at Kentucky Downs, maintaining the lead from the beginning to the end. This triumph propelled her from outside the top 100 to the eighth position in the overall standings. She also secured the second position in the older female division, trailing Thorpedo Anna, with earnings totaling $1,433,400 in 2025.
Following a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Unbridled Sidney Stakes Presented by Cygames at Churchill Downs in May, Ag Bullet has made a strong recovery with consecutive graded stakes victories. She defeated males in the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes at Saratoga on June 8, preceding her win in the Ladies Turf Sprint.
On the West Coast, the Grade 1 Pacific Classic Stakes on August 30 attracted notable contenders, including Fierceness, the 2023 champion 2-year-old male, and Journalism, the 2025 Preakness Stakes winner. They finished first and second, significantly ahead of the other participants, with Fierceness extending his lead to win by 3 ¼ lengths under the guidance of John Velazquez, marking his fourth Grade 1 victory.
Fierceness, trained by Todd Pletcher, initiated his 4-year-old season at Churchill in May, establishing a track record with a 1 ½-length victory in the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes Presented by Sentient Jet. After finishing second in the Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan Handicap and fifth in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes earlier this summer, Fierceness returned to the winner’s circle on Saturday. This win moved him up 18 positions to 12th in the overall standings and fourth in the older male division, with 2025 purse earnings of $1,298,970. The City of Light colt had previously finished second in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar last year and secured his return this year with the Pacific Classic win.
The closing weekend at Saratoga featured three Grade 1 races on the East Coast: the Spinaway Stakes on August 30, the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes on August 31, and the Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes on September 1, with Pletcher winning all three races. Tommy Jo, a Spendthrift Farm homebred by Into Mischief, dominated the Spinaway by 6 ½ lengths, maintaining an undefeated record from two starts. This victory on Saturday elevated her to fifth in the 2-year-old filly division with purse earnings of $220,000 and secured her participation in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on October 31.
The Jockey Club Gold Cup was won by Antiquarian, trained by Pletcher, by 1 ½ lengths on Sunday, and on closing day at the Spa the combination of Pletcher, Spendthrift, and Into Mischief once again dominated. Ted Noffey, a gray or roan colt by Into Mischief, achieved a dominant victory by 8 ½ lengths under Velazquez in the Hopeful, earning an Equibase Speed Figure of 104 in his second career start, following a debut win in early August at Saratoga. Ted Noffey advanced to fifth in the 2-year-old male division, matching stablemate Tommy Jo with earnings of $220,000.
The jockey standings remained largely unchanged last week, with Flavien Prat retaining the top position for the 11th consecutive week, exceeding $24 million in earnings. In training standings, Chad Brown advanced to third with $16,761,089, while Pletcher ascended to fifth place with $13,158,743 in 2025 earnings after a successful week.
North American leaders lists for horses, jockeys, trainers and owners are accessible on equibase.com, and you can refine the data to display a range of categories, including age, sex, surface, and race type.
