Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we’ll take a look each week at a recent winner on the Triple Crown trail, usually from the Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule that offers qualifying points to the first jewel of the series. The 1 ¼-mile Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve will be held May 3, 2025, at Churchill Downs.

This week, we’ll take a closer look at Coal Battle, the four-length winner of the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 4 at Oaklawn Park. The Coal Front colt earned 10 points toward qualifying for the 2025 Kentucky Derby with the win to boost his total to 20 points. Coal Battle currently ranks second on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Racing Résumé: There were plenty of Coal Battle doubters entering the Smarty Jones Stakes – he was the fourth betting choice among six starters at 9-2 odds – and surely quite a few will remain skeptical after his front-running four-length win Jan. 4 at Oaklawn Park. None of his wins to date has been particularly fast, but the Coal Front colt hasn’t lost a race on dirt in four starts.

Coal Battle extended his stakes winning streak to three after scoring by 2 ½ lengths in the 6 ½-furlong Jean Lafitte Stakes Nov. 8 at Delta Downs and winning the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile by a half-length Dec. 13 at Remington Park.

Prior to the Jean Lafitte, Coal Battle won his debut July 25 at Evangeline Downs by 3 ½ lengths on a sloppy main track in a race washed off the grass. He then ran fourth on the turf at Kentucky Downs in the $1 million Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes in September before an unplaced finish on the Keeneland turf in October.

Finding his niche on the dirt, Coal Battle has flourished for trainer Lonnie Briley, a seasoned 72-year-old trainer from Louisiana but a fresh face on the Triple Crown trail.

“Don't know if it’s set in yet,” Briley said after winning the Smarty Jones with Coal Battle. “No, it's crazy for the little guy, you know?”

Coal Battle had rallied from off the pace to win his previous two starts but took command from his outside post in the Smarty Jones with none of his opponents keen to set the tempo. Jockey Juan Vargas slowed the pace to a crawl on the lead and Coal Battle had plenty of fuel in reserve for the stretch run, completing his final quarter-mile in :24.21 in the 1 1/16-mile race. While the finishing time of 1:46.43 was not fast – nor were the speed figures (more on that below) –  Coal Battle finished quite well in the Smarty Jones and that is reason for optimism. 

Briley told Daily Racing Form that the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes on Feb. 22 at Oaklawn probably will be the next start on the Kentucky Derby trail for Coal Battle.

Speed Figures: Equibase gave Coal Battle a career-high 96 Equibase Speed Figure for the Springboard Mile victory. He regressed to an 84 in the Smarty Jones, due primarily to the extremely slow pace (three-quarters of a mile in 1:15.64). Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Speed Figures for the Jean Lafitte, Springboard Mile, and Smarty Jones were: 76-84-84. He therefore paired Beyer Speed Figures in the Smarty Jones and would be eligible to improve on seven weeks of rest in the Rebel Stakes.

While I believe the slow pace definitely dulled Coal Battle’s Equibase Speed Figure and that he is capable of running faster, he has not yet done so and probably will need to improve by about 10 points to be a win candidate in the Rebel.

Running Style: Coal Battle rallied from off the pace in each of his previous six starts, so trainer Briley told FanDuel TV in a post-race interview that he was surprised, and displeased, to see him setting a contested pace in the Smarty Jones. But Briley credited jockey Juan Vargas for making a correct judgement call in the moment in recognizing the leisurely pace to give Coal Battle a winning ride. Briley said in the television interview that Coal Battle has tactical speed but he prefers to use the speed late rather than early, so look for the colt to return to off-the-pace tactics in future races.

Connections: Coal Battle is owned by Norman Stables, the racing operation of Robert Norman from Thomasville, Ala. He was purchased for $70,000 as a yearling at auction in Texas.

Lonnie Briley, an Opelousas, La. native, has amassed 335 wins through Jan. 5 since taking out his license in 1991. He earned his first career stakes win in 1999 with Samantha Gwyn in the Camellia Stakes at Delta Downs. Coal Battle is Briley’s first multiple stakes winner and could give him the first graded stakes win of his career in the Rebel.

A happy Juan Vargas with Coal Battle. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Jockey Juan Vargas has ridden Coal Battle in five of his six starts, including all four of his victories. He has earned 538 wins through Jan. 5, including his first graded stakes win aboard Funnys Approval in the 2013 Barbara Fritchie Handicap and multiple graded stakes wins riding Potomac River.

Pedigree Notes: Coal Battle is from the second crop of multiple graded stakes winner Coal Front, winner of the 2019 Godolphin Mile Presented by Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum City – District One. Coal Front won graded stakes at ages 3, 4, and 5 at distances ranging from three-quarters of a mile to 1 1/16 miles. Coal Front has sired five stakes winners through Jan. 5 from his first two crops.

Stakes-placed sprinter Wolfblade, by Midshipman, is the dam (mother) of Coal Battle. Likewise, grandam (maternal grandmother) Venice Queen, by Latent Heat, was multiple stakes-placed sprinter.

Coal Battle has looked very strong since stretching out in distance, but his pedigree is not one that jumps off the page as an asset for excelling at 1 ¼ miles.

Derby Potential: It’s easy to root for the connections of Coal Battle as they find themselves on the Kentucky Derby trail for the first time with a talented 3-year-old colt riding a three-race stakes winning streak. It’s a great story.

“Every time we run him, he just seems to surprise us,” Briley said. “He’s a neat little horse.”

In order to become a serious player on the Kentucky Derby trail, Coal Battle will need to significantly boost his speed figures and outrun a pedigree that is light on stamina. I believe he can take a step forward in his next race to address the former, while the stamina concern, from my perspective, is very real. Of course, the ability to navigate and thrive at 1 ¼ miles is a key question for virtually every Derby contender with only a few Thoroughbreds truly bred for distance.

If Coal Battle was a stock, I would probably hold as it’s too early to buy or sell at this point.