Coal Battle soundly defeated Mo High quality to seize the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes on Jan. 4 at Oaklawn Park. The Smarty Jones is the primary route stakes for 3-year-old males on the Arkansas observe main towards Oaklawn’s Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 29.
The Smarty Jones served as factors races on the Street to the 2025 Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve. In choosing up 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying factors along with his four-length Smarty Jones Stakes victory, Coal Battle upped his whole to twenty, together with the ten factors he earned for a win within the Remington Park Springboard Mile in his earlier race. He’s second on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, trailing solely Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Citizen Bull’s 40 factors. Churchill Downs makes use of the qualifying factors for promotion and as a choice system when the Derby overfills past its 20-horse capability.
Describing his emotions about having an early prospect for the Might 3 run for the roses, veteran coach Lonnie Briley, whose steady is often compromised of blue-collar runners, mentioned, “Do not know if it is set in but. No, it is loopy for the little man, you understand?”
Loopy, maybe, however not altogether sudden. Coal Battle, who improved his document to 4-for-6 with Saturday’s victory. He returned $11 for a $2 win wager.
The front-running method by which Coal Battle received was nonetheless a shock, even to Briley, who anticipated to look at his prime horse do what he usually does and race from behind beneath jockey Juan Vargas. After breaking alertly, nevertheless, and with many of the riders within the race taking maintain of their mounts early, Coal Battle dragged Vargas to the lead within the 1 1/16-mile race. His rivals had been shut behind.
By setting snug fractions of :24.11, :49.03, and 1:15.64 over the quick however tiring floor, Coal Battle had lots left leaving the second flip. Lower unfastened by Vargas within the lane, he accelerated away from the competitors to finish 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.43, together with a remaining sixteenth in :06.13.
The flippantly raced Mo High quality, reluctant to change leads till the race’s remaining 100 yards, rallied to seize second, out-finishing favored Kale’s Angel, who settled for third. Bon Temps was fourth and second-choice Scorching Property completed a boring fifth in his second profession begin.
These runners earned 5-3-2-1 Derby qualifying factors, respectively.
Bred in Kentucky by Hume Wornall and Jay Adcock out of the stakes-placed Midshipman mare Wolfblade, Coal Battle was bought for $70,000. The colt is 4-for-4 on dust, having additionally received the Jean Lafitte Stakes and a maiden race in Louisiana, the place he started his profession as a juvenile in 2024. His solely two losses got here final 12 months on turf when seventh in an allowance at Keeneland and fourth within the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes.
Coal Battle is the highest earner for his sire, the a number of graded stakes winner Coal Entrance, who stands this 12 months for $2,000 at Crimson River Farms in Louisiana.
