Instant Replay, Coal Battle lead 9 in Saturday's Indiana Derby

A competitive field of nine 3-year-olds will enter the starting gate Saturday for the 31st running of the Grade 3, $300,000 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. 

Trainer Brad Cox will attempt to win his third straight Indiana Derby title with Instant Replay, who has drawn post nine. The Maximum Security colt comes into the race off a win in the Texas Derby at Lone Star. Overall, the sophomore, owned by Mary and Gary West, has won four of eight starts in his career and is two for two at the Indiana Derby distance of one and one-sixteenth miles.

“It’s a good spot for him,” noted Cox. “Obviously, we don’t have to ship quite as far. It’s a solid race, but I think he fits with them. Hopefully he takes the next step. I think he ran a really good race in Texas and beat a decent group. I think the water is a little deeper here, that this is a little better group of horses.”

On going for third straight win and fourth overall in the Indiana Derby, Cox noted, “It’s a race that has been good to us. We’re hoping this horse can be right there and move forward to some bigger and better things down the road.”

Joining Instant Replay as a contender for the Indiana Derby title is Publisher from the Steve Asmussen barn. The American Pharoah colt, who was a $600,000 purchase as a yearling, was on the Derby trail earlier this year, competing in the top 3-year-old races en route to a start in the Kentucky Derby his last outing. He comes back to the track off a two-month layoff and will be ridden by Hall of Fame Jockey Mike Smith from post one.

Another horse that received a lot of attention during the Kentucky Derby is Coal Battle from the barn of 72-year-old Lonnie Briley. The Coal Front colt was a winner in the Rebel Stakes (G2) before finishing third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) and heading on to the Kentucky Derby. He comes into the Indiana Derby off a third-place finish in the Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Bethany Taylor, assistant trainer to Lonnie Briley, trainer of Coal Battle said, “Lonnie and the other owner (Rob Norman) made the decision to run him in the Indiana Derby. We needed a race between the Matt Winn and the Ellis Park Derby. He’s doing great. He’s very happy, bucking and playing. He’s his normal self.”

Coal Battle was third by a total of 1 1/4 lengths in Churchill Downs' Matt Winn behind Grade 1 winners East Avenue and Burnham Square in his last start. He’s ready to go for a start in the Indiana Derby.

“It was super tough,” noted Taylor, who also serves as the colt’s exercise rider. “There wasn’t quite enough pace in there for us, so he didn’t show that closing kick he normally does. He’s not always gotten a ton of respect in the races we’ve put him in. Maybe now he’ll get a little more respect.”

First post for the day is 12 p.m. EDT with the Indiana Derby set as race 12 of 13, with an estimated post time of 6:33 p.m. EDT.