Coal Battle won the war against 2-1 wagering favorite Speed King down the stretch, outlasting the speed demon by a half-length to win the $300,000 Springboard Mile Stakes. The marquee race for 2-year-olds at Remington Park was the headliner on the final night of the 2024 Thoroughbred Season.
With regular rider Juan Vargas in the irons, Coal Battle took hold of the bit at the quarter pole and had about five lengths to make up for the victory. He dug in and got up to win by a half-length at 6-1 odds. Trainer Lonnie Briley said the 2-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Coal Front, out of the Midshipman mare Wolfblade, would make his next stop at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., in that track's 3-year-old Triple Crown trail.
Speed King was five lengths in front of Dominant Spirit, who was another 1-3/4 lengths ahead of Dr Ruben M in fourth. Jolly Samurai was a neck behind Dr Ruben M in fifth-place.
Coal Battle, was the winner of the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs in Louisiana in his previous start over a muddy track, going 6-1/2 furlongs. He won that race under Vargas by 2-1/2 lengths on Nov. 8. He also finished fourth in the $1 million Juvenile Mile at Kentucky Downs on the grass. If nothing else, Coal Battle has shown he is a versatile runner. He has now won on a sloppy track, by 3-1/2 lengths at first asking at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana, over a muddy track in the Jean Lafitte and now a fast track at Remington Park in the Springboard.
"(Coal Battle) broke his maiden impressively," Briley said. "He had a lot of trouble in the million dollar race at Kentucky Downs when he finished fourth. And then he won the Jean Lafitte. The owner (Norman Stables of Thomasville, Ala.) wanted to bring him here. He had run in this race before but never won it."
It was the first victory in this stakes race for all the connections of Coal Battle, who paid $15.80 to win, $6.40 to place and $4.40 to show. The hard-charging colt earned $180,000 from the purse and improved to five starts and three wins for total earnings of $307,625. He was bred in Kentucky by Hume Wornall and Jay Adcock and he was purchased from the Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale in 2023 for $70,000.
Speed King set early fractions of :23.93 for the first quarter-mile, :47.46 for the half-mile, 1:12.21 for three-quarters of a mile and 1:25.33 for seven-eighths of a mile. That's when the battle to the wire ensued. After the first five finishers were Brooklyn Alley Cat (55-1) sixth, Mister Omaha (5-1) seventh, Keeno (58-1) eighth, Complex Music (20-1) ninth, Medicine Dog (94-1) 10th, Essay (84-1) 11th and Blue Angel (60-1) rounding out the field in last.
Vargas said he had a plan aboard Coal Battle from the start. He didn't make an appearance in the race until he reached the stretch. He closed from dead last of 12 down the backstretch and was still 11th after a half-mile.
"I had planned to be in the middle of the pack and wait till the three-eighths to make my move," Vargas said. "He is just getting better and better. This was good for him."
Briley said Coal Battle would be pointed to the Southwest Stakes, the first major race on the Triple Crown trail in this part of the country. That is a Grade 3 event for a purse of $1 million at Oaklawn on Jan. 25, 2025, going 1-1/16th miles. That is followed by the Grade 2, $1.25 million Rebel Stakes on Feb. 22 at the same distance. If he passes the test of those two races he could run in the Grade 1, $1.5 million Arkansas Derby on March 29.
Coal Battle won 10 qualifying points toward the 2025 Kentucky Derby in the Springboard. The top five finishers all earned points, including: Speed King (5), Dominant Spirit (3), Dr Ruben M (2) and Jolly Samurai (1).
Remington Park has provided more than $370 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park presents year-round simulcast racing and casino gaming. The 2025 American Quarter Horse Season will begin on March 6. Must be 18 or older to wager on horse racing or enter the casino gaming floor. Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.
