By Dermot Connolly
A family from the Little Italy neighborhood had “beginner’s luck” with their horse Two Phil’s, which ran second in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.
Two Phil’s—named after the fathers of co-owners Anthony Sagan and Jerry La Sala, ran a close second in the first leg of the Triple Crown, just one length behind Derby winner Mage. The runner-up garnered $600,000—20% of the $3 million purse.
He was the first Illinois-based horse in 16 years to compete in the Kentucky Derby. In 2007, Illinois horse Recapturetheglory finished fifth in the Derby won by Street Sense, while Hard Spun, the father of Two Phil’s, finished second.
War Emblem was the last Illinois horse to win the Derby, coming in first in 2002.
La Sala is a retired jockey, and Sagan credited his friend and business partner with finding their first horse, a brood mare they named Mia Torri, after Sagan’s grandmother. Mia Torri gave birth to Two Phil’s in 2020.
“I am very proud that the horse is named after me, and his mother is named after Anthony’s grandmother,” said Phil Sagan, father of Anthony Sagan.
“My mother-in-law’s last name was Cantore, but Anthony couldn’t pronounce that when he was a child, so he called her Torri,” explained Phil Sagan, a retired newspaper distributor.
“My wife was Mildred ‘Butchie Girl’ Cantore,” he said. “Sadly, she died last December 26. She loved the horses too, and I am glad she got to see Two Phil’s in his earlier races.
“Since my wife was born in 1944, the whole family lived at 848 S. Loomis St., near the original Pompeii restaurant,” Phil Sagan said, noting the family sold the multi-unit building where she grew up only this year. “I grew up at Roosevelt and Crawford” [Pulaski], he said. “But I lived there” on Loomis Street in Little Italy “since we got married in 1964.”
Owner Anthony Sagan is from the Little Italy area, and owner La Sala hails from the Bensenville area.
Rags to riches
“It really was a Rocky story for us at the Derby,” said Anthony Sagan. “There are guys who have 100 horses and none of them made it to the Kentucky Derby. Our whole family was there, and everyone was so friendly and happy for us, congratulating us on our success. It is sort of a rags-to-riches thing with our one horse.”
The owner explained Two Phil’s’ mother, Mia Torri, had run ten races in 2016 and 2017—winning four and placing second in four and third in one. With the father being successful too, the plan was to sell the colt Two Phil’s, “but no one would buy him. We took him to the sales but we couldn’t give him away.”
Two Phil’s then embarked on his racing career, under the tutelage of trainer Larry Rivelli at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, IL.
“We’re glad it worked out the way it did, believe me,” Sagan said, noting trainer Rivelli “did very well with him.”
“Two Phil’s was second in income when he won the Jerry Ruby Stakes race in March,” Sagan added, and that qualified him for the Kentucky Derby.
“It was crazy—it could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he said, noting Two Phil’s was up against horses trained by big names such as Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox.
“I just went in thinking, ‘I am going to let my horse do the talking,’” Sagan said. “Without the horse, you are nothing.”
Along with Rivelli, Sagan credited jockey Jareth Loveberry for Two Phil’s’ success. “Jareth is Larry’s guy, and he has been Two Phil’s jockey for most of his races,” Sagan said.
Sagan acknowledged the deaths of seven horses at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, during race week raised concern. Two of the deaths resulted from race injuries on derby day.
Horse injuries and deaths led to five horses being scratched from the derby field, including Forte, the early favorite, on the day of the race. Eighteen horses ended up running.
“That was terrible,” Sagan said. “It is not good for the sport. These horses have to be protected, and they have to get to the bottom of it.”
He said he felt those at Churchill Downs took very good care of Two Phil’s; the horse placed fifth in his inaugural race there last year and first in the Street Sense Stakes last October. In total, he has run seven races.
Despite the second-place win in the Derby, Sagan and his partner decided immediately not to run Two Phil’s in the Preakness, the second leg of the Triple Crown, on May 20.
“He most likely won’t be in the Belmont Stakes” either, Sagan said, referring to the third leg set for June 10.
“Decisions like this have a lot to do with the lengths of the races and the timing,” Sagan explained. “There are other races he can run in.”
Sagan also said he was not happy to see Arlington International Racecourse, in Arlington Heights, IL, close, given his many happy family memories of outings there.
“It sucks, but it’s just part of the business,” he said.
Sagan said Two Phil’s might have a couple more races in his future before being put out to stud.
“If he is not a father, he could run next,” Sagan said. “But he will be fathering horses in his near future. He is a once-in-a-lifetime type of horse. He has won four races, and he just tries hard every time.”
“It has all been a great experience,” Sagan added. “It was like winning the lottery. We couldn’t be happier. These horses will take you a lot of places, and I am glad to be along for the ride.”