Two Sharp has no trouble with added distance in dominant Chilukki victory

Two Sharp proved too sharp – much, much too sharp – for her seven rivals in the Grade 3, $300,000 Chilukki Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

Racing with blinkers added despite having easily won her most recent race, a Keeneland allowance last month, Two Sharp, in her first start beyond 6 1/2 furlongs, had absolutely no trouble staying this one-turn mile.

Under Junior Alvarado, Two Sharp made a clear early lead, went a very fast half mile in 44.86 seconds, and proceeded to put on a show in the homestretch. Alvarado offered mild encouragement with the reins at about the eighth pole but scarcely had to, as Two Sharp totally dominated, winning off by 5 3/4 lengths before galloping out much farther in front than that.

“Just kind of a jaw dropping performance,” said Phil Bauer, who trains Two Sharp for his lone client, Rigney Racing.

Royal Spa finished a distant second, Taxed third in what turned into a one-horse race. Two Sharp, who paid $3.94, clocked a strong 1:34.40 over a fast track.

Three-year-old Two Sharp came into the Chilukki with two wins and two seconds from four starts, one of the defeats coming in her lone previous stakes try, the Prioress at Saratoga, where the filly Brightwork beat her a neck. Connections thought that in the Prioress and in Two Sharp’s maiden win the start before that the filly lost focus in deep stretch. Alvarado, after the Keeneland win last month, told the filly’s trainer that Two Sharp had failed to maintain her concentration racing around the turn, losing position at the three-eighths pole, though she still scored an easy victory.

“Scary talent, but there were things during the race you thought she could be a little more professional,” Bauer said.

Bauer said Two Sharp’s three works with blinkers suggested the equipment change had achieved the desired effect. The Chilukki confirmed that.

Two Sharp, by Twirling Candy out of Double Sharp, by Distorted Humor, was bred in Kentucky by Woods Edge Farm and heads to California for her next start, the Grade 1 La Brea on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita. Two Sharp’s final quarter mile and powerhouse gallop-out Saturday hinted the filly might carry her speed around two turns, and Bauer said that chance could come sometime in 2025.

That’s the future. Saturday, nobody in the one-turn mile Chilukki could touch her.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.