Brueggemann patient with The Pizza Man

NEW ORLEANS - Because Arlington Million winner The Pizza Man went off his feed for three days here recently, trainer Roger Brueggemann decided against sending him to Santa Anita for Saturday’s San Gabriel.

Brueggemann said Tuesday that the Pizza Man didn’t have a fever and hadn’t missed any training.

“He just wasn’t 100 percent,” Brueggemann said. “I’d rather take my time and have him 100 percent.”

The Pizza Man ended his 2015 campaign in California. He won the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup on Nov. 26 at Del Mar to finish his year with four victories in six starts and earnings of $1,088,600.

The Pizza Man hasn’t worked at Fair Grounds. The first race in the track’s stakes series for older horses is the Grade 3 Col. E.R. Bradley on Jan. 16. Brueggemann said he hasn’t chosen a race to open The Pizza Man’s 2016 campaign.

“We’ll see what happens,’’ Brueggemann said.