According to trainer Larry Rivelli and co-owner Anthony Sagan, Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Two Phil’s will not contest the 148th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 20 at Pimlico Race Course.
The Hard Spun colt turned in an admirable one-length defeat behind Mage , who took home the first leg of the Triple Crown May 6 at Churchill Downs for owners Patricia’s Hope, Phillip Sagan, and Madaket Stables.
“It’s just too soon, that’s all,” Rivelli told BloodHorse Tuesday afternoon. “The horse came out of the race in great shape. There is no need to run back in two weeks. Two Phil’s ran his guts out.”
Anthony Sagan, son of the elder Sagan, said that running second was bittersweet.
“To be so close to winning the Kentucky Derby, it hurts. If we get back to that race, we might be one of the greatest breeders ever. It’s happy and sad but we’re so proud of the horse, he ran his eyes out,” Sagan said.
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“He ran a 105 Beyer, which wins the Derby like nine out of 10 years. It’s very rare you see the first-place horse get the same Beyer as the second-place horse. They each got a 105, he was just phenomenal.”
Sagan said Mage’s jockey, Javier Castellano, has always been one of his favorites, and that he was glad to see him break his Derby losing streak.
“Castellano rode my mare, Two Phil’s mom, and he never lost on her. He was 3-for-3 on her. It’s a coincidental part of the story, he never lost on Mia Torri and he was 0-for-15 in the Derby and he snaps it here.
“I’m happy for Javier…I picked him to ride Mia Torri. I am happy he got his win but wish it would have been next year. But (the connections) of Mage deserve it, they had the best horse and hats off to them.”
Two Phil’s (inside) finishes a game second to Mage in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
He added that besides skipping the Preakness, Two Phil’s will likely not run June 10 in the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes (G1), in favor of a summer “tune-up” such as the Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown or the Matt Winn Stakes (G3) back at Churchill.
“(He’ll go to) something in June and then we go for the gusto, the Travers (Stakes, G1), the (Jim) Dandy (Stakes, G2), Haskell (Stakes, G1), something like that. And then the dream would be to run in the Breeders’ Cup. Maybe he’s a Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile or God willing, maybe he’s a Classic-type horse.”
Somewhere in the future Two Phil’s might also try his luck on the turf. Sagan said he is a versatile horse and enjoys taking to different surfaces.
“I want to see what he’s capable of, I want to see him on the turf. I think he’ll be a better turf horse… Maybe his best surface is yet to come, I don’t know, but he’s doing pretty good on the surfaces he’s run on so far,” Sagan said. “I don’t think much bothers this horse, I think he’s the kind of horse that can run on anything. He’s a poor man’s Wise Dan, in my opinion,” —a reference to the Hall of Fame gelding who won graded stakes on dirt, turf, and synthetic.
From nine starts, Two Phil’s is 4-2-1 and has an impressive bankroll of $1,283,450. Earlier this year, his 5 1/4-length victory in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park earned a spot in the Derby starting gate. He was runner-up to Instant Coffee in his 2023 debut at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in the Lecomte Stakes (G3) in January and ran third in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) the following month back at the New Orleans oval.
With the absence of Two Phil’s, Preakness contenders from the Derby include Mage, fourth-place Disarm , and 10th-place Confidence Game .
