All eyes on Two Phil's in strong edition of Ohio Derby
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Two Phil’s finished a gallant second in the Kentucky Derby, after which he was freshened for a summer and fall campaign. His highly anticipated return comes in Saturday’s Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.
He leads a field of eight 3-year-olds that includes Bishops Bay and Henry Q, second and third, respectively, to subsequent Belmont Stakes winner Arcangelo last out; Wood Memorial winner Lord Miles, who is returning off an unplanned layoff; and Texas Derby winner Hayes Strike.
The 1 1/8-mile Ohio Derby anchors a 12-race card that begins at noon and includes three other stakes – the $250,000 Lady Jacqueline, for open fillies and mares; and a pair of Ohio-bred events, the $75,000 George Lewis Memorial and $75,000 Daniel Stearns Cleveland Gold Cup.
The Ohio Derby, the richest Thoroughbred race in the Buckeye State, regularly draws alums from the Triple Crown series. In four of its last 10 runnings, it has been won by a horse who started in the Kentucky Derby – Mr. Z (2015), Mo Tom (2016), Irap (2017), and Tawny Port (2022).
Trainer Larry Rivelli said the “distance and spacing” of the Ohio Derby makes it an attractive spot for Two Phil’s to attempt to join that list as he looks ahead to the summer’s Grade 1 events for the division, the Haskell next month at Monmouth Park and the Travers in August at Saratoga.
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Multiple graded stakes winner Two Phil’s is the only Ohio Derby entrant with triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures. He broke through with a 101 for his 5 1/2-length score in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby in March on Turfway’s Tapeta, earning his way into the Kentucky Derby.
In the Kentucky Derby, Two Phil’s and regular rider Jareth Loveberry raced in fourth early, never more than two lengths off Verifying as he took the field through opening splits of 22.35 seconds for the quarter, 45.73 for the half, and 1:10.11 for six furlongs. Two Phil’s moved strongly on the turn and led at the quarter pole, kicking away by 1 1/2 lengths.
He was confronted by the rallying Mage, who had been 14th early. Two Phil’s was grudgingly overtaken late, finishing second by a length.
His performance, which earned a 105 Beyer, was made more impressive considering the finishes of others who were near the early pace. Verifying faded to 16th, while the tracking Kingsbarns and Reincarnate ended up 14th and 13th, respectively.
Two Phil’s has emerged from his impressive effort to train strongly at Rivelli’s Hawthorne base.
“He’s doing great,” Rivelli said. “Been training just as good as he was going into the Derby. Very happy with the way he came out of that race.”
Only one thing has not gone according to plan for Two Phil’s, as Loveberry, who has ridden the colt in all but one of his nine career starts, has been forced to take off the ride this weekend due to an undetermined injury, with Gerardo Corrales picking up the mount. Corrales rode Two Phil’s in the colt’s debut sprinting in June 2022 at Churchill Downs, in which they finished a somewhat troubled fifth.
“I’m devastated to not be riding Two Phil’s this weekend,” Loveberry, whose injury was first reported by Thoroughbred Daily News, posted on Twitter on Friday. “Hopefully, the doctor report won’t let me be out too long.”
Bishops Bay was second by a head to Arcangelo after a long drive in the Grade 3 Peter Pan on May 13 at Belmont Park, with Henry Q, a stakes winner at Sunland, beaten 8 3/4 lengths while third. Their form was flattered when Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes.
Bishops Bay, making his stakes debut in just his third start in the Peter Pan for Brad Cox, is a forwardly placed runner. However, regular rider Florent Geroux will likely try to cede an early lead to rail-drawn Henry Q and not move too early with Bishops Bay, a colt he indicated can be a bit distracted when he makes the lead.
“He’s very spotty when he runs,” Geroux said after the Peter Pan. “In his two previous starts, the same thing. He looks like he’s got it, but he does not really run away from the other horses.”
Lord Miles has not run since springing a $120.50 upset in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 8. He was scratched two days before the Kentucky Derby following the unexplained sudden deaths of two other horses trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. that week at Churchill Downs, during a spate of highly publicized fatalities at the track. Churchill subsequently banned Joseph for an “indefinite period.”
Hayes Strike was multiple graded stakes-placed last year for Kenny McPeek, including a second in the Grade 3 Street Sense behind Two Phil’s. He won the Private Terms at Laurel Park, finished seventh in the Grade 1 Blue Grass, and then again faced company more to his liking in the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park, rallying from seventh in the lane to win by a nose.
Three Ohio-based runners, all making their stakes debuts, round out the field. Agnello’s Dream and Last Cookie were both most recently second to older horses in separate open allowance races at Thistledown. Timesatappin was fourth in Last Cookie’s allowance.
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