Coal Battle (outside) earned a 1/2 length victory over Speed King after a late rally in the Remington Springboard Mile. (Dustin Orona Photography)
By Robert Yates
Speed King will get another shot around two turns in the $1 million Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 25 at Oaklawn, trainer Ron Moquett said Friday.
The Southwest, raised to a record seven figures after previously being worth $800,000, is Oaklawn’s second of four Kentucky Derby qualifying races. The series begins with the $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at 1 1/16 miles Jan. 4.
Speed King, in his second start and two-turn debut, finished second, beaten a half-length by Coal Battle, in the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes Dec. 13.
“We understand there’s some good horses coming for the Southwest, but we believe we’ve got a good horse,” Moquett said.
Speed King, from the first crop of Grade 1-winning sprinter Volatile, was a front-running 2 ¼-length debut winner Nov. 1 at Churchill Downs. Speed King, who went off 22-1, covered six furlongs in 1:10.25 to generate an Equibase Speed Figure of 93.
Speed King received a 95 Equibase Speed Figure for the Springboard Mile, which was run at night.
After grabbing the early lead under Rafael Bejarano, Speed King, the 2-1 favorite, was shadowed down the backstretch and around the second turn by Dr Ruben M. Speed King shook clear in the upper stretch, but he couldn’t hold off Coal Battle on the outside approaching the wire.
The final time over a fast track was 1:39.25. Speed King took the 12-horse field through a :47.76 half-mile and 6 furlongs in 1:12.21.
COAL BATTLE ($15.80) made a huge move to get by Speed King and win the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at @RemingtonPark. The two-year-old colt by Coal Front is trained by Lonnie Briley. Juan Vargas rode immaculately to earn 10 points to the @KentuckyDerby. pic.twitter.com/qmanKKFN6Y
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) December 14, 2024
“If you look at the card, he was the only horse that ran well, that fought throughout the entire race,” Moquett said. “Even in the other stakes races, everybody won from the off the pace. He went up there and set some really fast fractions and fought down the lane. Congratulations to the horse that won, but I believe that we spent a little too much time staring at the screen (infield video board) on the inside, looking at that, instead of running.”
Moquett said he doesn’t anticipate any equipment tweaks for the Southwest, which he won in 2015 with Far Right.
“These screens are farther away and we’re not running at night,” Moquett said, referring to Oaklawn’s infield video boards.
Moquett trains Speed King for one of his most treasured clients, Ted Bowman (Triton Thoroughbreds). Moquett and Bowman teamed to win the $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) in 2006 at Churchill Downs with Seek Gold, a 99-1 shot.
Bowman, who resides in Hot Springs, purchased Speed King for $100,000 at the OBS Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training.
Speed King collected five Kentucky Derby qualifying points for his runner-up finish in the Springboard Mile. The Southwest will offer 42 total points (20-10-6-4-2, respectively) to the top five finishers toward Kentucky Derby starting eligibility.
Sandman, a sharp Dec. 13 allowance winner at Oaklawn, is also pointing for the Southwest, trainer Mark Casse said. Sandman has four Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
Mystik Dan, the 2024 Southwest winner, captured the Kentucky Derby.
Finish Lines … … ….. …….
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