The Pizza Man: Chicago Style

With my positions at NBC, TVG and Fashion at the Races, I’m lucky enough to get up close and personal with some of the biggest stars in horse racing. For me, and many others out there, the feeling of meeting these horses is a lot like meeting your favorite celebrities. However, due to the nature of the sport, many fans never get to meet these equine athletes. In my new blog, Horsenalities, I hope to connect fans with their favorite horses on a more personal level. I’ve made it my mission to get the inside scoop, straight from the horse’s mouth… well, almost.

There was quite a bit of excitement and drama this weekend at Arlington Park in Illinois. The Arlington Million XXXIII featured 13 horses over 1 1/4 miles on a yielding turf course. The purse was $1,000,000 for the "Win and You're In" race, and the winner secured a spot in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Longines Turf.

The field broke well, and as expected, Shining Copper was sent to the front. The Chad Brown trainee quickly led the pack in 21.79 for the first quarter and 46.75 for the half, the fastest in Arlington Million history. They clocked three quarters in 1:10.84 and The Pizza Man decided to make his move, followed closely by Chad Brown's other entry, morning line favorite, Big Blue Kitten. Midway through the stretch, Shining Copper fought gamely against Up With the Birds (Graham Motion) who ran up the rail to challenge the lead. But in the upper stretch, The Pizza Man continued to close, making his way to the front and holding off late charging Big Blue Kitten by a neck. Shining Copper held on for third.

The Pizza Man was the first Illinois bred to ever win the Arlington Million. And he did so at odds of 10-1. The victory over a tough field of European horses and Grade 1 winners, led one to wonder where did this gelding come from? As it turns out, he's been winning stakes races left and right, and mostly in the north. The Pizza Man is by English Channel and out of I Can Fan Fan (Lear Fan). He was born on March 25, 2009 and broke his maiden as a two year old in his second career start at Hawthorne in April 2012. He won Allowance and Stakes races at Hawthorne, Arlington and Fairgrounds. His early resume included wins in the Tex’s Zing Handicap, Buck’s Boy Handicap, Illinois Owners Stakes, Robert F. Carey Memorial Handicap, Black Tie Affair Handicap and the Grade 3 Stars and Stripes Stakes. The Pizza Man captured our attention with his “best delivery yet”, when he won the 2014 American St. Leger Stakes. His easy win over the 1 11/16 miles on the turf would be his last until May 2015 when he returned to the winner’s circle after the Opening Verse Stakes at Churchill Downs. He followed that performance with a repeat victory in the Grade 3 Stars and Stripes Stakes in July, and of course, his win in the Arlington Million.

After a brief lesson in The Pizza Man’s history, I called trainer Roger A. Brueggemann to learn more about the bay gelding owned by Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc. Here’s what he had to say:

What's his personality like?

He’s got a wonderful personality, actually. He’s kind and easy about everything. There are no problems about anything with him. He’s just a pleasure to be around.

Does he have a nickname at the barn?

We just call him Pizza, or Petesy. My wife gave him the nickname, Petesy.

I have to ask, is there a story behind this gelding's name?

Well, it’s because of the marking on his forehead. It’s shaped like a piece of pizza (Chicago stlye, of course).

What's his favorite treat? I'm assuming it's not pizza...

He likes carrots and mints.

Can you describe his running style?

This last time, the rider, Florent Geroux, said he wasn't getting a hold of the turf well in the beginning of the race. But that’s where he likes to run anyway, from off the pace. He said as soon as he swung him to the outside, he grabbed the bit, and started running really hard. At times he’s been closer to the pace, and we have to time the race perfectly with him because he likes to relax a little bit when he gets in front. We try to time it to where he doesn't get out there by himself for too long, because somebody can come and catch him if we’re not careful. He gets out there and then he waits for the horses to come to him.

You've had him for a long time, correct? In your opinion, which of his races was the most impressive?

Yes, I had him when he was young. I think his first race was when he was two, but it was late on the year on the dirt. We just needed to get a start in him so we ran him for the first and only time on dirt. He doesn’t like the dirt much at all. Ever since then, he’s been on the grass. There’s quite a few, most of his races stand out to me, but the Arlington Million is probably his biggest and most notable.

The Pizza Man has been pretty consistent throughout his entire career, with a record of 15-1-2-1 out of 23 starts. He's been in the money 83% of the time. Would you say he's always been this talented?

Yeah, since the first time we put him on the grass, he’s always been really competitive and 110% every time he goes out there. Like the rider said, “He knows how to win, he wants to win and he knows where the wire is".

As far as his racing career, it seems he's never really needed a layoff. Has he always been a strong, happy and healthy gelding?

It actually seems like he’s getting better with age. He did have some time off this last year after we went to Del Mar. We flew him from Del Mar out to the farm in Florida and he stayed there for 5 or so months. No injuries, we just gave him some time off. We gave him some time off the year before, too. But this year, he came back a little stronger than he was. He didn't need any rest, but he got it anyways because I wasn't going anywhere in the winter. This year, I think we’re going to Fairgrounds, so he may not get a break this year.

The crowd was electric as he made his run to win the Arlington Million, and was the first Illinois bred to do so. How was the horse after that big victory?

He was full of himself. He still is, actually! He was pretty proud of himself. We all are.

You’ve qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Longines Turf. What’s your plan for the rest of the year? 

Well, the Breeders’ Cup is on the radar. Whether it actually happens or not, we’ll just see what comes up. We’ll have to see what is out there before the Breeders’ Cup. I think there might be another race coming up at Keeneland when their race starts, so he might run there.

You had your first Breeders’ Cup victory last year with Work All Week. The connections, trainer, jockey and owners, are the same with The Pizza Man. Do you think this horse could bring the group a second Breeders’ Cup victory in just two years?

It’s always in the back of my mind. We’re actually hoping to take the other horse, Work All Week, back, too. We’re going to try and run him in the Pheonix which is a Win and You’re In. The Pizza Man wasn't nominated for the Breeders’ Cup when he was young, so they’ll have to supplement it. It was the same with Work All Week.

Has The Pizza Man gone back to training?

Yeah, he went back to the track today. He’s doing really well. The race didn't take anything out of him, actually!