Gulfstream: The Pizza Man will ship for Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The Donn undercard got a real plum when trainer Roger Brueggemann said Friday that The Pizza Man will be shipping in for the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap on Feb. 6.

A 2015 Eclipse Award finalist for older turf horse, The Pizza Man had been intended for the San Marcos at Santa Anita (also Saturday), but suitable travel arrangements could not be made, said Brueggemann. Instead, the 7-year-old Illinois-bred gelding will be vanned here from his winter headquarters at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

The Pizza Man, an earner of nearly $1.9 million for owner-breeder Midwest Thoroughbreds, figures to be favored in the $350,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, a 1 1/8-mile race expected to get another seven or eight older horses.

The other four stakes here Saturday are the Grade 3, $150,000 Suwanee River; the Grade 3, $100,000 Fred Hooper; the $75,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint; and the $75,000 Ladies Turf Sprint.