SPORTS VIEW AMERICA – We Are Your Top Sports Source …
Content by – LISA LAKE – ROEDEMEIER – SPORTS VIEW AMERICA …
Please check us out on TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, & FACEBOOK …
Thousands of Sports Photos located at SVA PHOTOS …
As impressed as we were with Two Phil’s 5 3/4 length victory in the Grade 3 $500,000 Ohio Derby on Saturday, many of us were busy speculating about his next race as soon as he crossed the finish line. Trainer Larry Rivelli has done a beautiful job placing his three-year-old superstar and spacing his races appropriately. I had settled on the Grade 1 Haskell in late July when the news came of his injury. Apparently, Two Phil’s had pressure in his ankle on Sunday morning which was of serious concern to his connections. They quickly made the decision to send him to Rood and Riddle Equine where the best in the business, Dr. Larry Bramlage, would care for him and likely do surgery. Rivelli said the quiet part out loud when he revealed that Two Phil’s would likely never be the same, would not race again in 2023, and might be at the end of his racing career.
Two Phil’s is a homebred and did not meet his reserve at the sale, so Phillip Sagan took him home and sent him to Rivelli. He has since acquired more partners and some talk of stallion deals are already in the works.
The son of Hard Spun out the the Sagans’ General Quarters mare has earned $1,583,450 and has five wins from ten starts. He was the runner up in the Kentucky Derby to Mage, whom he likely would have seen in the starting gate next to him again in Saratoga late this summer.
Two Phil’s covered the mile and an eighth Ohio Derby distance in 1:49.60 and received a 105 Beyer for his effort. He has triple-digit Beyers in his last three races, which puts him in select company at the young age of three. He was beautifully ridden by jockey Gerardo Corrales, as his regular jockey, Jareth Loveberry, was injured earlier last week in a race at Canterbury Downs. Loveberry was devastated at the news of both his arm injury and Two Phil’s ankle injury. He congratulated all the connections on Twitter, and expressed his sadness over the injuries. Corrales had ridden Two Phil’s one time…almost a year ago to the day before the Ohio Derby. He was the only other jockey to ever pilot him.
Each year, the debate regarding the strength of the crop of three-year-old campaigners amuses me. With Forte’s unfortunate physical hiccups during the Triple Crown, it is true that there were no Goliaths for the Davids to take down. But that is true most years. There are only thirteen Triple Crown winners with Sir Barton leading the way in 1919. Personally, I cannot wait for Saratoga to open its gates and showcase the finest racing North America has to offer, including the Grade 1 Travers aka the Summer Derby!
Like this:
Like Loading...
