Millionaire multiple stakes winner Coal Battle is back on the work tab at Oaklawn in advance of his 4-year-old debut, which trainer Lonnie Briley said could come in the $500,000 Oaklawn Mile (G3) for older horses March 28.
Unraced since a runner-up finish in the Indiana Derby (G3) July 5 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Coal Battle had his second published breeze this season at Oaklawn when he covered a half-mile in :49.80 Thursday morning. The track was fast.
"He had time off and stuff, so I'm just getting him back ready," Briley said. "I was hoping—I still don't know—I could have him ready for the Oaklawn Mile. But with that shutdown, I don't know if I'll have quite enough time. We'll see."
Briley was referring to a winter storm late last month that led Oaklawn to close the track for training for nine consecutive days (Jan. 24-Feb. 1).
Coal Battle was preparing for the Zia Park Derby in late November at Zia Park when Briley decided to pull the plug on the colt's 3-year-old campaign following a half-mile workout Oct. 4 at Keeneland. That came on heels of Briley scratching Coal Battle from the Oklahoma Derby (G3) Sept. 28 at Remington Park.
"I could just see he needed a little time, so I stopped on him," Briley said. "We brought him brought back here in December."
Coal Battle returned to the work tab Feb. 4, clocking three furlongs in :36.40.
Coal Battle was one of the stars of the 2024-2025 Oaklawn meeting. The son of millionaire Oaklawn stakes winner Coal Front won two Kentucky Derby qualifying races, the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes and $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2), before finishing third in the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1). Coal Battle ran 11th in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) June 8 at Churchill Downs before his final start of 2025 in the Indiana Derby.
"He's training good," Briley said. "He's doing good, feeling good. He's ice cold, so he'll be back on the work tab pretty regular now. I was thinking of the Oaklawn Mile and then the Oaklawn Handicap. Those are kind of the two races I'm hoping for."
The $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles is April 18. Champion Letruska is the only horse in Oaklawn history to win two races with a base purse of at least $1 million. Letruska won the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares in 2021 and 2022.
Coal Battle, who races for Norman Stables (Robert Norman), has a 5-1-2 record from 11 lifetime starts and earnings of $1,287,675. Coal Battle is a four-time stakes winner.
The Ratings Are in
Friday's fourth race, a six-furlong event for older horses, marks Oaklawn's first using a "Ratings Handicap" eligibility format. The Equibase ratings system debuted last fall at Santa Anita. It is a performance-based numerical rating that reflects the horse's racing history and is designed to make races more competitive. Equibase is the country's official data gathering organization for Thoroughbred racing.
According to Equibase, ratings are generated through performance, strength of competition, ground gained/lost, recent form and consistency and track and distance factors.
The eligibility condition of Friday's race is straightforward—horses with a rating of 70 to 80. It drew nine runners, including Ninja Warrior for trainer Greg Compton. Ninja Warrior, 9-2 on the morning line, is stakes-placed and exits a sixth-place finish in a salty $117,000 allowance sprint Dec. 19 at Oaklawn. The Ratings Handicap has a $55,000 purse.
"It's a great spot to run," Compton said. "If you have a horse in there, you don't have to worry about it getting claimed. It doesn't count as an allowance race. It fit Ninja Warrior. He's kind of a hard horse to find races for. He's a (three-other-than allowance horse). That race doesn't always go and it is a tough race because normally it will have a date attached to it, so you can catch just about anybody coming off a long layoff, a graded stakes horse, or a small stakes race type."
Ninja Warrior has an 80 rating. Ratings refresh daily, according to Equibase, but are locked in after a horse is entered in a race.
Other horses entered with an 80 rating are B Sudd and 2-1 program favorite Henro, a multiple stakes winner who won the 2024 Iowa Derby at 1 1/16 miles. For comparison, reigning Horse of the Year Sovereignty had a rating of 102 Dec. 17.
Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope has four Ratings Handicap races in his latest condition book (Jan. 30-Feb. 20).
Benefits of ratings races include balanced and competitive fields for the racing department, additional options for horsemen and more evenly matched races for bettors, according to Equibase.
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