The Pizza Man delivers in Stars and Stripes
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Pizza Man, dominant in Illinois-bred turf stakes, won the first graded race of his career, leading from start to finish in the Grade 3, $150,000 Stars and Stripes Handicap on Saturday at Arlington.
The Pizza Man beat O’Prado Ole by a half-length, but his connections had to sweat out a jockey’s objection lodged by Channing Hill, O’Prado Ole’s rider. Coming past the finish for the first time, The Pizza Man spooked from something inside the course, lurching out into O’Prado Ole’s path. The stewards disallowed the objection.
The Pizza Man finished third in the 2013 Stars and Stripes after falling too far behind a moderate pace under Florent Geroux, but this year, Geroux, fully aware the race lacked pace, let The Pizza Man run out to the lead, something the gelding never had done during his 15-start career.
“On paper, it looked like there was not much speed,” said Geroux. “I had the best horse in the race, so I took the lead and went with it.”
The Pizza Man, with O’Prado Ole tracking, set extremely slow splits of 26.76, 53.69, and 1:21.18, a walking pace for six furlongs, and passed the mile in 1:46.73. Geroux had him in full flight around the far turn, and The Pizza Man passed the stretch call ahead by two and one-half lengths, staying on to hold off O’Prado Ole by a half-length. Suntracer, who closed furiously from sixth at the stretch call, finished another neck back in third. The Pizza Man, who paid $5.60 to win as the favorite, was timed in 2:33.67 for the mile and a half on firm turf.
Bred and owned by Midwest Thoroughbreds, and trained by Roger Brueggemann, The Pizza Man has been a prolific winner throughout his career. A 5-year-old son of English Channel – I Can Fan Fan, The Pizza Man won for the 11th time in 15 grass starts.