Two Phil's will train at Hawthorne before heading to Churchill Downs for Kentucky Derby
?q=100)
The consistent Two Phil’s, who punched his ticket to the Kentucky Derby with a breakout win in the Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby on Saturday at Turfway, is bound for trainer Larry Rivelli's Hawthorne base for a few weeks of training before returning to Churchill Downs.
Rivelli reported that all was well on Sunday morning with Two Phil’s, saying that the colt slept well, ate well, and was happy the morning after his victory.
“I’ll bring him back to Chicago, where I have all my horses under one roof, which I like,” Rivelli said. “It’s easier for me. I’ll get him to Churchill probably 2 1/2 to three weeks before the race. We know he likes the track. I’ll school him a little bit, and get him one work over the track.”
Two Phil’s and jockey Jareth Loveberry rolled by 5 1/4 lengths in the Ruby, with the colt earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 101. That is the top figure earned by any 3-year-old going a distance so far in 2023.
It was the second Grade 3 victory of his career, as he won the Street Sense on a sloppy, sealed Churchill Downs track last October. He has earned 123 points on the system Churchill Downs uses to determine the 20-horse Derby field, with 100 of those coming from the Ruby.
"I think he probably prefers [Turfway’s Tapeta] better than he does the dirt, but I guess you can't change Churchill Downs," Rivelli said Saturday. "When he won in the Street Sense, I thought, 'I hope it rains on Derby Day again!' "
Two Phil’s is by Hard Spun, who also won the Ruby – nee the Lane’s End – before finishing second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. Rivelli said that this professional colt has a laid-back attitude, which will serve him well as the hype surrounding the May 6 Derby intensifies.
“This horse, from 10:30 to 11:30 every day, I don’t care if there’s fireworks going on, he’s sleeping,” Rivelli said. “As long as he’s sleeping between 10 and 11, we know all systems are go!”
Earlier on Saturday's Turfway card, Botanical punched her ticket to the Kentucky Oaks with a front-running, 2 1/2-length victory in the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks.
The filly earned a Beyer of 90, just missing the career-best 91 she earned winning the Cincinnati Trophy at Turfway in early March.
Botanical’s two stakes victories, which have earned her a combined 70 points toward the 14-horse field for the May 5 Oaks, are part of a string of four consecutive wins on Turfway’s Tapeta for Botanical. The daughter of Medaglia d’Oro – sire of a pair of Oaks winners in Rachel Alexandra and Plum Pretty – has never raced on dirt for owners LNJ Foxwoods and Clearsky Farm.
“I can’t really tell you exactly what made her who she is today but she seems to be getting better with every race,” Tessa Walden, assistant to trainer Brad Cox, said. “I think any time you get in a race like the Kentucky Oaks, you will go there. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.