Godolphin Mile winner Two Rivers Over proves bargain claim

Two River Over’s upset win in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai on Saturday capped a remarkable nine-month span that began when the gelding was claimed for a mere $30,000 at Ellis Park last June.

Long before Two Rivers Over won the $1 million Godolphin Mile, the claim had turned into a profitable investment for co-owners Todd Cady and Ty Leatherman. In four starts last year after being claimed, Two Rivers Over earned $252,500, including a payday of $176,400 for a win in the $300,000 Zia Park Derby in New Mexico last November.

In his first start of 2024, Two Rivers Over was fourth in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Jan. 27 at Santa Anita. In the Godolphin Mile on a one-turn course, Two Rivers Over closed from off the pace in a field of 13 to reach the front in the final strides under jockey Edwin Maldonado, winning by three-quarters of a length. The race earned a 116 Timeform Rating, equivalent to a low triple-digit Beyer Figure.

The victory was worth $581,197, bringing Two Rivers Over’s earnings since being claimed to an astonishing $845,697. The purchase was the idea of Cady and Leatherman, California-based trainer Doug O’Neill said Sunday.

“I have to give those guys credit,” he said. “That was all Ty and Todd.”

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Two Rivers Over is by Tamarkuz, who won the Godolphin Mile at Meydan in 2015 and the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita the following year. Tamarkuz, by Speightstown, stands at Ballycroy Bloodstock in Canada.

O’Neill said Two Rivers Over is scheduled to clear quarantine and return to his stable at Santa Anita on Saturday. The gelding’s day-to-day care in Dubai was managed by O’Neill’s chief assistant, Leandro Mora.

“I talked to Leandro,” O’Neill said. Two Rivers Over “came out of it great. We’re still celebrating the big win.”

O’Neill said the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar is a long-range goal for Two Rivers Over, who has won 5 of 15 stars and earned $907,048 in his career.

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