Coal Battle Catches Speed King to Win Springboard Mile
Image:
Description:
Photo: Dustin Orona Photography/Remington Park
Coal Battle wins the Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park
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 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes. The marquee race for 2-year-olds at Remington Park was the headliner on Dec. 13, 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 Park in Hot Springs, Ark., in that track's 3-year-old Triple Crown trail races.
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. The top five finishers earned qualifying points to the 2025 Kentucky Derby (G1) on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
Coal Battle was the winner of the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs Racetrack 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 Nov. 8. He also finished fourth in the $998,550 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes 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. The hard-charging colt earned $180,000 from the purse and improved to three wins in five starts for total earnings of $307,625. He was bred in Kentucky by Hume Wornall and Jay Adcock and was purchased from the Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale in 2023 for $70,000.
Speed King set early fractions of :23.93, :47.46, and 1:12.21, with seven-eighths in 1:25.33. That's when the battle to the wire ensued.
Vargas said he had a plan aboard Coal Battle from the start.
"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 $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) Jan. 25 at Oaklawn going 1 1/16 miles. That is followed by the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Feb. 22 at the same distance. If he passes the test of those two races he could run in the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby March 29.