FLORENCE, Ky. -- On the first Saturday in March, jockey Jareth Loveberry was on the sidelines, having fractured a fibula in a starting-gate accident at Fair Grounds. On the last Saturday in March, Loveberry was on Two Phil's, cruising to a dominant 5 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3, $700,000 Jeff Ruby at Turfway Park. And if all goes well, he will again be aboard the colt on the first Saturday in May. Two Phil's, who is already a graded stakes winner at Churchill Downs, locked up a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby by earning 100 points toward that goal with this win. "Right now, the pain's not there," Loveberry said while draped with the winning blanket of flowers in the winner's circle. "This horse is just really special to us." :: Bet the races on DRF Bets! Sign up with code WINNING to get a $250 Deposit Match, $10 Free Bet, and FREE DRF Formulator.  Loveberry was aboard Not On Herb in the gate for an allowance race on March 1 at Fair Grounds when the colt reared, throwing the rider out the back of the gate. Loveberry sustained a hairline fracture to the fibula, the smaller of two bones in the lower leg, in his left leg. He was cleared to resume riding relatively quickly, and was back in the entries on March 16 at Fair Grounds. The Ruby was Loveberry's fourth win since returning to action. It was also his fourth win aboard Two Phil's, who has taken half of his eight career starts for trainer Larry Rivelli, major client Patricia's Hope LLC, and breeder Phillip Sagan. Loveberry was aboard Two Phil's for the colt's second-out maiden win last July at Colonial, and the duo then took the Shakopee Juvenile at Canterbury. After finishing seventh against deep company in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity - a race won by eventual Eclipse Award champion Forte - Two Phil's bounced back to win the Grade 3 Street Sense on a muddy Churchill Downs strip on Oct. 30. Two Phil's resurfaced on the Derby prep trail at Fair Grounds, finishing second in the Grade 3 Lecomte behind Instant Coffee - well-beaten as the Louisiana Derby favorite later Saturday evening - and then third behind Angel of Empire in the Grade 2 Risen Star. "He really, really has [matured]," Rivelli said of the workmanlike colt's seasoning. "And not by too much we've had to do with him. As he's gotten older, we've schooled him, we've done the proper stuff that we're supposed to do with him, but he never turns a hair. Nothing bothers him." Rivelli elected to move the colt to Turfway's Tapeta for a shot at a major Kentucky Derby prep against, perhaps, a more moderate field. "He trained on this track unbelievable," Rivelli said. Confidently handled by Loveberry, Two Phil's, who broke from post 8 in the field of 10 3-year-olds, was unhurried through the first half of the Ruby, a race his sire Hard Spun won in 2007. Up front, Funtastic Again, winner of the Leonatus Stakes on January at Turfway, was showing the way in his customary style. That colt attempted to steal away on the far turn, jumping clear through six furlongs in 1:11.91. Wadsworth made a strong move to loom a threat, and favored Major Dude, who had been saving ground inside, was also within striking range. Meanwhile, Two Phil's ($7.64) swung out to make his run. "I was hoping ... I could try to tuck in as soon as I could," Loveberry said. "He just relaxed nicely. [Wadsworth] had me covered up, and he does a lot better when he's covered up. Just a dream trip. Got him tilted out, and he finished [well]." Two Phil's cleared the field with a rush to take a 1 1/2-length lead into the stretch. He continued on with authority to widen to his final margin, finishing up the nine furlongs in 1:49.03. That was faster than the 1:50.09 for the older Wolfie's Dynaghost in the Kentucky Cup Classic two races earlier; the track record is 1:48.29, set by Ball Four in 2006.   Major Dude, who is stakes-placed on dirt and a multiple graded stakes winner on turf, was a clear second under Irad Ortiz Jr. With the Ruby awarding points toward the 20-horse Derby starting gate on a 100-40-30-20-10 scale, Major Dude sits 12th in the current standings for trainer Todd Pletcher and Spendthrift Farm. The same connections have Kingsbarns assured a spot in the Derby gate after his win in the Louisiana Derby later in the evening. After Major Dude, it was 2 1/4 lengths back to a game Funtastic Again, who was clear by three lengths over Wadsworth. Then came Maker's Candy, followed by Congruent, winner of the John Battaglia Memorial earlier this month at Turfway. Baby Billy, Escapologist, Bluebirds Over, and Point Priven rounded out the order of finish. After returning to Rivelli's Hawthorne base for a few weeks, Two Phil's will return to Churchill Downs bidding to become the second consecutive Kentucky Derby winner to emerge from the Ruby. Rich Strike was third in this race last year before pulling his massive Kentucky Derby upset; the colt paraded in the paddock with the field for this year's renewal. Like Rich Strike in 2021-22, Two Phil's was a winner on the Churchill Downs dirt as a juvenile before earning a return to Louisville the following spring. However, Rivelli acknowledged that the Turfway performance was a breakout one. "I think he probably prefers this surface better than he does the dirt, but I guess you can't change Churchill Downs," Rivelli said. "When he won in the Street Sense, I thought, 'I hope it rains on Derby Day again!' " :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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