Bryzzo a Chicago Cubs favorite on 2018 Kentucky Derby trail
When Albaugh Family Stable’s Jason Loutsch decided to name a promising young colt Bryzzo, he had no idea the clout it carried.
The horse’s namesakes — Kris Byrant and Anthony Rizzo — of course won last year’s World Series with the Chicago Cubs. Now Bryzzo will aim for the world’s most famous horse race, the 2018 Kentucky Derby.
Bryzzo is more than a mashup of star Cubs players’ names. Major League Baseball also turned the moniker into a viral ad campaign for the Bryzzo Souvenir Company, which conducts business by doling out home runs to fans at Wrigley Field. That part, Loutsch didn’t know.
"We have a tough time coming up with names," Loutsch told MLB.com, where the horse was featured this week. "We try to name them after family members or an event or people we like who are famous. I'm a diehard Chicago Cubs fan and we won the World Series, obviously, so I thought it would be great to name him after my two favorite Chicago Cubs, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. I took the Bryant and Rizzo and came up with Bryzzo.”
A son of Medaglia d’Oro, Bryzzo was a $500,000 purchase for Albaugh Family Stable and broke his maiden at second asking Nov. 17 at Churchill Downs. Dale Romans trains the dark bay colt.
The Bryzzo name has been dropped by former President Barack Obama. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder created a jingle. Other Cubs stars are, jokingly, employees of the Bryzzo Souvenir Company.
"We've been to the last two Kentucky Derbys and the last three Breeders' Cup [races]," Loutsch told MLB.com. "When we go to the sales, we're buying horses with the classic pedigrees. Our goal is to win a Kentucky Derby. We've achieved the goal of getting to the Derby, now we have to win this thing eventually. It's kind of like the Cubs -- someday it might happen.”
Albaugh Family Stable has crossed lines into other sports with this same crop. Free Drop Billy, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, was named after Dennis Albaugh’s golf buddy, Bill Collins, who has a penchant for improving his lie. Also campaigned by the stable is Dak Attack, who’s 2-for-2 and named after Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.