Kentucky Derby trail: Two Phil's leads Jeff Ruby probables
Two Phil’s leads the list of probables for the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on Saturday, March 25, a Kentucky Derby 2023 qualifier that awards 100-40-30-20-10 points to the top five finishers.
The Hard Spun colt trained by Larry Rivelli is at No. 13 on the Derby leaderboard, with 23 points, so a finish in the top five on Turfway's synthetic track could get him in the Churchill Downs gate May 6.
Two Phil’s picked up eight points in finishing second to Instant Coffee in the Lecomte (G3) in January and 15 when third in the Risen Star (G2). Among the Jeff Ruby probables, he has the shortest odds in Las Vegas futures, listed at 50-1 by Caesars Sportsbook and 110-1 by Circa Sports. He ended at 88-1 in pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which closed Sunday. That’s also the shortest among the favorites.
The only other Derby points prep at Turfway is the John Battaglia Memorial, and the colts who finished 1-2 are expected back at the next Saturday, according to Churchill Downs, owner of the Northern Kentucky track.
Congruent, the 6 1/2-length winner at odds of 16-1, is a Tapit colt trained by Antonio Sano. He has two other wins, his Gulfstream Park maiden and the Laurel Futurity. In his start before the Battaglia, he was sixth in the Kitten’s Joy (G3) at Gulfsteam. He is best-priced at 100-1 in Las Vegas.
Scoobie Quando, second in the Battaglia, has had only three starts, all this year and all at Turfway. He broke his maiden on his first try and then was second in an optional-claiming allowance race in February. He also is best-priced at 100-1 in Nevada.
Also expected from the Battaglia is Moon Landing, who finished fourth.
Major Dude, a son of Bolt d’Oro trained by Todd Pletcher, is expected to ship from Gulfstream for the Jeff Ruby. His first three starts were on dirt, where he broke his maiden and then lost his next two. Switching to turf, he went 2-for-2 in his next four starts, including a win in the Kitten’s Joy. Major Dude is best priced at 250-1 in Las Vegas.