From Wikipedia:
It involves two reactions. Firstly glucose with phenylhydrazine gives glucosephenylhydrazone by elimination of a water molecule from the functional group. The next step involves reaction of one mole of glucosephenylhydrazone with two moles of phenylhydrazine (excess). First phenylhydrazine is involved in oxidizing the alpha carbon to a carbonyl group, and the second phenylhydrazine involves in removal of one water molecule with the formyl group of that oxidized carbon and forming the similar carbon nitrogen bond.
Why doesn't it first react with the formyl group and stop with just one phenylhydrazine? That is, why doesn't the nitrogen of phenylhydrazine attack the $\mathrm{sp^2}$ carbonyl carbon (a nucleophilic addition reaction)?
Why does it oxidize glucose first and then proceed?