In a hotly contested 3-year-old division, Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve runner-up Two Phil’s made his case as a horse to be reckoned with after a stylish score in the $500,000 Ohio Derby June 24 at Thistledown.

Trainer Larry Rivelli was bullish about Two Phil’s rank on the sophomore totem pole after Saturday’s victory, in which the colt handily defeated Bishops Bay, who entered the race off a narrow runner-up finish to Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets winner Arcangelo in the May 13 Peter Pan Stakes.

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“I think it’s a very competitive [crop]. I think we are starting to hopefully separate ourselves a little bit,” Rivelli said. “The thing about our horse is that he shows up every time. I’m yet to see him throw in a clunker. And I think he’s just getting better.”

The son of Hard Spun has been the picture of consistency throughout his 3-year-old campaign, never finishing worse than third in four starts this year. After solid placings in Derby prep races at Fair Grounds over the winter, Two Phil’s romped by 5 1/4 lengths in Turfway Park’s Jeff Ruby Steaks before making his way to Churchill Downs for the Derby. And it was in that race where he quashed any doubts about his ability to compete against the best — taking the lead at the top of the lane only to get worn down by Mage late.

Bypassing the final two jewels of the Triple Crown in favor of resting the colt and preparing for the summer classics, Rivelli returned Two Phil’s to his home training base at Hawthorne Race Course in Chicago for a brief reprieve.

Two Phil’s winning Ohio Derby under Gerardo Corrales. (JJ Zamaiko Photography Inc.)

Three days before the Ohio Derby, the Two Phil’s team received some unfortunate news when the colt’s regular rider, Jareth Loveberry, was injured while riding June 21 at Canterbury Park. The pair had been through eight of the chestnut’s nine starts together. So Gerardo Corrales, the only other jockey to have ridden Two Phil’s (in his career debut), was called upon to take the mount.

The race unfolded perfectly for Corrales. With longshot Henry Q and Bishops Bay pressing an early pace through quarter-mile fractions of :22.62 and :47.42, Two Phil’s tracked comfortably in fourth in the clear down the backstretch. Never too far from the front duo, Corrales set the colt loose on the second turn and he exploded past his rivals with a stirring turn of foot. Ahead by two lengths at the quarter pole, he continued to stride clear of Bishops Bay, streaking past the finish line 5 3/4 lengths the best.

“It went as good as we could’ve expected,” Rivelli noted. “The ride was perfect; the trip was perfect. You know when you draw [the race] up that way and you say this is what you’d like to happen, this is what you’d want to happen. When it plays out the same exact way it’s a little bit of luck but we couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”

The 3-5 favorite, Two Phil’s ($3.20) raced the 1 1/8 miles in a final time of 1:49.60 on a fast main track. Bishops Bay was seven lengths ahead of Hayes Strike in third.

Rivelli said following the Ohio Derby that Two Phil’s would target the July 22 Haskell Stakes for his next start, but those plans were put in jeopardy on Sunday, June 25, when the trainer told Daily Racing Form that Two Phil’s suffered an ankle injury and was receiving treatment at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. Rivelli later told BloodHorse that the injury would keep the colt out of training for the rest of his 3-year-old season.