By Bill Finley
Prep season for the GI Kentucky Derby is still in its earliest stages, but a couple of races over the weekend gave us some things to get excited about. It appears, in GII San Vicente Stakes winner Barnes (Into Mischief), we have an early Derby favorite that could give Bob Baffert his first official Derby win since Authentic (Into Mischief) in 2020 in what would be his return to America's most famous race after the Churchill ban. Sold for $3.2 million at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga, this could be a special horse.
But we also have this year's dark horse, the type of underdog everyone can get behind, a modestly bred 3-year-old named Coal Battle (Coal Front) who is trained by Lonnie Briley. He won Saturday's Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn, beating horses trained by Peter Miller, Wayne Lukas and Brad Cox. For Briley, a soft-spoken 72-year-old trainer from Louisiana, it was the biggest win of a career that started in 1988. Prior to that, he was the long-time farm manager for the late John Franks.
Since going out in his own in 1988, Briley, who races primarily at Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and Fair Grounds, has won 338 races, but he's yet to win his first graded stakes race. The Smarty Jones is a listed race.
Nonetheless, he had no reason to be believe he'd come as far as he has when he picked Coal Battle, a Kentucky bred, out of the 2023 Texas Thoroughbred Association Yearling Sales, paying just $70,000. The sire, Coal Front, stands for just $2,000.
Coal Battle debuted July 25 at Evangeline, winning a $31,000 maiden special weight race by 3 1/2 lengths with Juan Vargas aboard. There was nothing particularly special about the performance. He covered the 5 1/2 furlongs in :59.40 seconds and the Beyer figure was a modest 55. Briley then made the decision to run Coal Battle in successive grass races, which didn't work out.
He went back to the dirt, and the results were back-to-back wins in the Jean Laffite Stakes at Delta and the Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park.
“It's been fun and exciting,” Briley said. “The horse is sound and he keeps getting better and better as we have kept running him. He's been at six different racetracks in four different states. He ran a little different Saturday, going to the lead. We had been taking him off the pace, but the fractions were so slow the rider just kind of went with him. He had his head bowed all the way around and he just kind of galloped down the stretch. He's a neat little horse. At the Springboard Mile he was looking at the grandstand and was kind of running sideways. At Delta Downs, he was looking at the gate in the infield and running sideways there. Yesterday, nothing bothered him so it seems like he has matured and is getting better and better.”
Lonnie Briley and Juan Vargas in the Oaklawn winner's circle | Coady Media
The $250,000 Smarty Jones was clearly the best race of his career. He went to the lead right from the start, but a challenge emerged when race favorite Kale's Angel (Complexity) came to him at the head of the stretch. But Coal Battle sprinted away from him to win comfortably, by four lengths.
Briley said the Feb. 22 GII Rebel at Oaklawn is probably next for his colt.
Then there's the jockey. Vargas has been riding in the U.S. since 2008 and is a regular in southern Louisiana. He's a had a bit more success than Briley, having won three graded stakes, but not much more. Prior to coming to the U.S., he rode in Argentina and his native Peru. Briley took him off Coal Battle for a race at Kentucky Downs and another at Keeneland. But he got the mount back for the Jean Laffite and is now 3-for-3 on the horse.
“I went to the Jean Laffite and put Vargas back on and he won,” Briley said. “I just kept him on him. He likes the horse and gets along with him and knows horse. Why not ride him?”
Somewhere down the line and if he stays healthy, Coal Battle may have to face Barnes. That would be quite the David vs. Goliath story. After selling for $3.2 million to owner Amr Zedan, Barnes made his debut at Churchill Nov. 27. He was the first horse Baffert was able to run at Churchill since they rescinded the ban that stemmed from the betamethasone positive with Medina Spirit (Protonico) from the 2021 Derby. He was able to win at first asking, but didn't necessarily live up to the hype. He had to fight to win by a head and got a Beyer figure of 84.
He was much better in the San Vicente. Facing off against the highly regarded GIII Bob Hope Stakes winner Bullard (Gun Runner), Barnes turned the San Vicente into a one-horse race. He won by 5 1/2 lengths over stablemate Romanesque (Practical Joke). Bullard, a 'TDN Rising Star' was third.
“I knew he would run well,” Baffert told the Santa Anita notes team. “I was watching [Jockey] Juan [Hernandez], he knows the horse well, and he said he was a little green. But everyone who has worked him says he has another gear. They are all a little green. The second out is the most important for all these horses.”
The other 3-year-old winners Saturday were Cyclone State (McKinzie) in the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct and Guns Loaded (Gun Runner) in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Both ran well and should be heard from again. But the plucky horse out of Louisiana and the colt that cost $3.2 million, it was their weekend.
Rajiv Maragh Has Lofty Goals
Rajiv Maragh picked up his third winner since he launched his comeback in October, winning Saturday's seventh at Gulfstream aboard Valentine Bug (Dramedy). After being away from the sport for 2 1/2 years while he explored opportunities in the technology field, he knew it would not be easy to win a lot of races in Hallandale, where the riding colony is arguably the best in the country, upon his comeback. But Maragh said he is not the least bit discouraged and has set some very lofty goals for himself. He believes he can win an Eclipse Award before he is done.
Rajiv Maragh back at Gulfstream | Ryan Thompson
“My biggest dream as a jockey is to win an Eclipse Award,” he said. “That is my overarching goal. In the short-term, I would like to be riding in the higher quality races, the elite races. Within the next five years I'd like to be traveling around riding in all the premier races. Not only domestically, but internationally. I want to get prime opportunities. That's the stage where I want to see myself riding, in races like the Pegasus and the Saudi Cup.
“I feel like the first phase is just going back to the basics and showing people the value proposition of riding me,” Maragh said. “Whenever I ride a horse, I want the owner and trainer to believe they have achieved their optimal position. That's what I think it all comes down to. That's what I am focusing on right now. If the horse is expected to win or is a longshot, I'd like the owner and trainer to think I might have over achieved. I finished third but I should have been fourth. By riding me they got a better placing.”
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