Two Phil's carries the flag for his Chicago home team

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00:00Every year, the Kentucky Derby seems to have one or two blue-collar underdog stories.

00:07And this year, one of those horses is Two Phils.

00:09The Jeff Ruby Stakes winner represents Owner Trainer Connections, who are all from Chicago

00:14and are looking forward to their first Kentucky Derby.

00:17Two Phils and our team got here Sunday night, kept them home as long as they could and had

00:23no issues with him because he ran on this track before and won on it.

00:25So I was confident that he liked the track and we had to be here by today at noon, so

00:31we were.

00:33Phil Sagan is the breeder and Jerry LaSalla, who is a Chicago jockey, retired to ride for

00:40me, coincidentally, a lot, when I first started training.

00:45And Jerry's dad, his name is Phil, and those two are best buddies.

00:50They talk all the time, so that's how they got Two Phils.

00:54Earliest memory was the first day that I got him, or second day I got him, he, from

01:0010.30 to 11.30, we know this now, but he sleeps, he loves, I mean, he just doesn't matter what's

01:05going on.

01:06It could be a circus in town and he just loves to sleep, which is a great quality to have

01:11on a horse.

01:12And then when he got on the track and trained good, I put him in company in some workouts

01:17with some other horses that I had that were pretty good, kept up right, kept right up

01:21with him, put a couple of them away, that's when I knew that a horse was going to be a

01:25little bit better than an average horse.

01:28His Jeff Ruby race was the most impressive race so far to me, by far.

01:33Aesthetic track, may have played a part in it, as far as having an affinity to run on

01:38that track versus dirt, that's the unknown.

01:41If he can emulate that race here, I think he'll win, but we'll find out.

01:48The Foglia's are like family to me, Vinny's, we're real close.

01:52His mother Patricia and his father Vince are fantastic people, I mean, really a great relationship

01:59to actually do something with a friend and it's like, I'm happier for him than I am for

02:03me, you know what I mean?

02:04And I think vice versa, they're the same way, so great people and just fortunate to be,

02:09you know, part of their lives.

02:10Everybody's Chicago, it's all Chicago.

02:13War Emblem was the last horse in Chicago to run in the Derby and win, actually.

02:17That's as far as I can remember, we've been on a zillion podcasts from guys from Chicago

02:22and a lot of articles and stuff, so hopefully we can represent well, I think we will.

02:28Everyone's great back home, all my peers and friends and owners and trainers are just sending

02:34me texts, we're behind you, Riv, go on with it, get the money.

02:38Not nervous.

02:39I, you know, it's like I was explaining to somebody, I don't feel any pressure because

02:43everyone's just, we're happy that we made it, it is what it is, what are we gonna do?

02:47It's a horse race, it's a game, it's fun, it's something that we, you know, have a passion

02:52for, my livelihood, and when you train for good people that are just happy to be part

02:59of it, there's really no pressure, which makes it easier for me.

03:02I'm gonna enjoy the ride and everybody's gonna, believe me, and if we win, we're gonna tear

03:07the town down.

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