Two Phil's goes five furlongs in Kentucky Derby drill at Hawthorne
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Two Phil’s, impressive winner of the Jeff Ruby Steaks over the Tapeta surface at Turfway Park, had a major dirt tune-up for the Kentucky Derby on Sunday morning at Hawthorne Racecourse.
Working in company with his Larry Rivelli-trained stablemate Smokin Richie, Two Phil’s was clocked in 1:00 for five furlongs and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13, Rivelli said.
“It was awesome. He sat a couple lengths off the other horse and at the top of the lane just ran by him. I didn’t think he was going to get by him that easy, but he did,” Rivelli said.
This was Two Phil’s big Derby work – he’ll have a final one, less demanding, next weekend at Rivelli’s Hawthorne base before shipping to Churchill Downs – and Rivelli was prepared to postpone the drill, perhaps even until Wednesday, if forecast rain hit Sunday morning. But with no rain on a cold morning, Rivelli worked his first Derby starter at 7 a.m.
“Everything worked out great. He was pretty impressive, about like when he worked in 59 [seconds] before the Turfway race. This was the ‘turn the screws’ work,” Rivelli said.
Rivelli confirmed Sunday that Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stable had purchased 10 percent of Two Phil’s from the colt’s breeder, Philip Sagan. Sagan and Madaket each have a 10 percent stake in Two Phil’s with Vince Foglia’s Patricia’s Hope the colt’s majority owner.
Two Phil’s, by Hard Spun out of Mia Torri, by General Quarters, won the Street Sense Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths over a sloppy surface in his lone previous start at Churchill. He’d run solidly at Fair Grounds finishing second in the Lecomte and was third in the Risen Star before his breakout 5 1/4-length Jeff Ruby Steaks win, which secured Two Phil’s a spot in the 20-horse Derby field and earned him a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Jareth Loveberry, aboard for Two Phil’s last seven starts, will retain the mount in the Derby.
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