Throughout the opening weeks on the 2025 Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, Coal Battle has been recognized as a “feel-good” story of small-time connections aiming for an invite to the big dance at Churchill Downs.

That story changed drastically in the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park Feb. 23 when Coal Battle elevated himself from simply a feel-good story to an undeniable threat to wear the garland of roses May 3.

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Breaking from the rail in a 13-horse field, a position that concerned Louisiana-based trainer Lonnie Briley, Coal Battle eased his conditioner’s mind in stellar fashion when he drew clear for a 1 ¼-length win over Madaket Road in the Rebel, his fourth consecutive victory.

A third win on the Kentucky Derby trail earned the colt an additional 50 qualifying points, placing Coal Battle in first place on the leaderboard with 70 points. The remainder of the top five finishers – Madaket Road, Sandman, Publisher, and Tiztastic –  earned points on a 25-15-10-5 scale.

With Coal Battle having to break from the inside path, jockey Juan Vargas eased his mount several lengths off the pace as Bob Baffert-trained Madaket Road sped away on the lead and took three pursuers with him.

It was 24 ¼ lengths from first to last after the opening quarter-mile, as the field was well strung out while Madaket Road blazed through fractions of :22.47 and :45.72.

After a half-mile, Coal Battle was fifth, eight lengths behind – a disadvantageous position based off the day’s trends. In four earlier 1 1/16-mile races on the Oaklawn card, no winner had closed from more than two lengths behind. In fact, three of those races saw the top three finishers travel in the top three spots from start to finish. The fourth race saw the top two do the same.

A celebration for Briley (right) and friends. (Coady Media)

Coal Battle, who in his Jan. 1 Smarty Jones Stakes victory was on the pace from the start, proved to be no ordinary horse as he used his versatility to make an early move approaching the three-eighths pole and kick past the tiring pace pursuers. With only Madaket Road to catch, Vargas prepped his colt for battle and took command entering the stretch.

Madaket Road battled valiantly, but by the sixteenth pole it was clear whose day it would be. Coal Battle, carrying five pounds more than his rival, broke free and hit the wire handily in front. He stopped the clock in 1:43.01 and paid $25.80 to win. The remainder of the pace attendees had retreated to the back of the pack while closers Sandman and Publisher rounded out the superfecta.

“(Vargas) had him in the perfect position. We figured the speed would’ve went, but we didn’t want to be too far back. He had him in perfect position and he moved him at the right time,” Briley said. “He ran big. ... What can I say? I couldn’t ask for more.”

The winner’s purse more than doubled Coal Battle’s career earnings, elevating the colt to millionaire status with $1,188,875 in the bank – more than enough justification for owner Robbie Norman’s faith in Briley when the trainer selected the colt for $70,000 at the 2023 Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sale.

Although Coal Battle’s spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate is clinched, there is still one more stop on the schedule: the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn March 29.

“We plan on going to the Arkansas Derby, give him one more chance (before the Kentucky Derby),” Briley said. “I know they’re going to run at him hard.”

Quietside Earns First Graded Stakes Win in Honeybee

A victory yell for Ortiz aboard Quietside. (Coady Media)

Quietside soared to her first graded stakes victory when she annexed the $500,000 Honeybee Stakes earlier on Oaklawn’s Rebel Stakes card, defeating Five G and 9-10 favorite Muhimma. The win earned Quietside 50 points on the road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks.

The Shortleaf Stable homebred daughter of Malibu Moon had finished on the board in four consecutive stakes races, including a third-place finish in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes last fall at Keeneland behind champion 2-year-old filly Immersive. She was most recently a troubled second behind Take Charge Milady in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Jan. 25.

Quietside, with jockey Jose Ortiz in the irons, applied pressure to pacesetting Five G who set quick fractions of :23.19 and :46.87 for the opening half-mile before making her move at the top of the stretch. Five G and Muhimma fought on gamely but could not catch the winner as she kicked away from her rivals, finishing the 1 1/16-mile race in a final time of 1:43.63.

“We wanted to be very strategical with the training due to the weather,” said trainer John Ortiz. “It hasn’t helped us. We came up with a plan to get her down south, got a work in her, hasn’t missed a day, and I think that with an outside post and a perfect trip got the job done.”

Longshot Necessity got up for fourth place, with Quickick rounding out the top five. The four fillies behind the winner earned Kentucky Oaks points on a scale of 25-15-10-5. Take Charge Milady did not fire and finished 10^th.

Quietside’s 50 points vaulted her to the top of the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 68 points and updated her career bankroll to $552,200.

“This type of race knocks them all out of the park,” trainer Ortiz said of his filly’s graded stakes win.–Olivia Newman