Coal Battle worked a bullet five furlongs on Saturday at Ellis Park and later the same morning drew post eight in a field of eight for the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park. The 1 1/8-mile race will be run next Sunday, Sept. 28, on a card of eight stakes that begins at 3 p.m. Central.
Coal Battle breezed in 59.80 seconds, the move was the fastest of 23 at the distance. The Grade 2 winner who has earned $1.2 million is gearing up for his first start since July 5, when he ran second in the Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
Owner Robert Norman said last month that Coal Battle was freshened following the start and that trainer Lonnie Briley was targeting the Oklahoma Derby.
Coal Battle will attempt to become the latest horse to win a stakes after running in this year’s Indiana Derby. The winner, Tip Top Thomas, came back in his next start to take the Smarty Jones at Parx Racing; third-place finisher Brotha Keny captured the Bourbon Flight on Saturday at Churchill Downs; fifth-place finisher Instant Replay came back in his next start to win the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs; and sixth-place finisher Big Truzz returned in his next out to take the Ellis Park Derby.
Coal Battle has been made the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the Oklahoma Derby. He won the Springboard Mile at Remington Park last year to earn a fees-paid berth into the Oklahoma Derby. He is seeking to become the third horse to pull the Springboard-Oklahoma Derby double behind Going Ballistic, who did so between the years of 2006-2007, and Golden Yank, from 2007-08, according to statistics from Remington spokesman Dale Day.
The complete Oklahoma Derby field from the rail with riders and morning line odds is: Mister Omaha, Luis Quinonez, 8-1; Iron Dome, Jose Ortiz, 9-2; Hot Gunner, Floyd Wethey Jr., 20-1; Bracket Buster, Luis Saez, 4-1; Publisher, Erik Asmussen, 7-2; Take Charge Tom, Ramon Vazquez, 8-1; Colonel Yorke, Stewart Elliott, 15-1; and Coal Battle, Corey Lanerie, 2-1.
Bracket Buster was second in the Travers in his last start, while Iron Dome is coming off a win in the Albany at Saratoga. Take Charge Tom enters off a win in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby.
The Oklahoma Derby goes as the 10th race, with a scheduled post of 7:48 p.m. Central. The card is the richest of the meet with purses totaling more than $1.3 million. Day said the track’s normal wagering format will be in place, with an early pick five starting in the first race and the late pick five beginning in the sixth race. The pick fours on the card start in the second, fourth and seventh races.
The $200,000 Remington Park Oaks drew Torrey Pines runner-up So There She Was from Southern California-based trainer Doug O’Neill. She will meet Sunland Park Oaks winner Runnin N Gunnin from the barn of trainer Steve Asmussen, and recent Ellis Park allowance winner Lemon Zest from Kentucky-based trainer Brad Cox.
The card also includes the new $250,000 Great West Stakes, a five-furlong turf sprint that drew a full field of 12. Usually Wrong could go favored in the race designed to serve as a steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.
The forecast calls for sunny skies and a high of 83 degrees, according to the Weather Channel.
For the ontrack crowd, there will be free hat and bowtie contests with four categories and $3,600 in prizes, according to a press release. There also will be an ontrack wine festival that serves as a fundraiser for a variety of charities supported by Remington.
Last year, the track raised $95,000 for the charities. The fundraising efforts also include an annual golf tournament, which was to have been renewed Monday.
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