Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) winner Two Phil's will spend the next several weeks at Hawthorne before returning to Churchill to make his bid for the 2023 Kentucky Derby, trainer Larry Rivelli told the Daily Racing Form. Rivelli plans to ship back to Louisville in time to get one work over the main track, as well as paddock schooling opportunities.
The 3-year-old son of Hard Spun won the Jeff Ruby by 5 1/4 lengths under jockey Jareth Loveberry.
Two Phil's has run well on dirt in the past, winning the Grade 3 Street Sense Stakes over a sloppy main track at Churchill last fall. He followed up that effort with a second in the G3 Lecomte and a third in the G2 Risen Star, after which Rivelli pointed the colt back to the Tapeta.
“I think he probably prefers [Turfway's Tapeta] better than he does the dirt, but I guess you can't change Churchill Downs,” Rivelli told DRF. “When he won in the Street Sense, I thought, 'I hope it rains on Derby Day again!'”
Bred in Kentucky by co-owner Phillip Sagan, Two Phil's is out of the multiple stakes winning, graded stakes-placed General Quarters mare Mia Torri. After failing to achieve his reserve as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale, Two Phil's won at second asking and took the Shakopee Juvenile Stakes in his third career start. Overall, the colt's record stands at 4-1-1 from eight starts, with earnings of $683,450.
Read more at the Daily Racing Form.
The post ‘I Hope It Rains On Derby Day’: Rivelli Plans To Train Two Phil’s At Hawthorne Before Shipping To Churchill appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
