The Pizza Man Tops Deep Field in Shadwell Turf Mile
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Photo:
Heidi E. Carpenter
Midwest Thoroughbreds’ The Pizza Man, winner of the Arlington Million (G1) in his most recent start, tops a deep field of 13 entered Wednesday for the 30th running of the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), one of three Grade 1 races Saturday afternoon on a 10-race program that features two other graded stakes.
Other Grade 1s on Saturday’s card are the 102nd running of the $500,000 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity for 2-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the main track and the 18th running of the $400,000 First Lady for fillies and mares going a mile on the turf.
The Shadwell Turf Mile and the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity are “Win and You’re In” races for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships to be held here Oct. 30-31.
First post time Saturday is 1:05 p.m. ET with the Shadwell Turf Mile slated as the ninth race with a 5:45 p.m. post time.
The Pizza Man is undefeated in three races in 2015, highlighted by his victory in the Arlington Million. Trained by Roger Brueggemann, the 6-year-old English Channel gelding will be ridden by Florent Geroux and break from post position 10 in the race that will earn its winner a spot in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on Oct. 31.
The Pizza Man already has earned a spot in the gate for the $3 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) by virtue of his Arlington Million victory.
Three other Grade 1 turf winners are in the field: Gary Barber’s Jack Milton, Juddmonte Farms’ Seek Again and Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Bobby’s Kitten.
Trained by Todd Pletcher, Jack Milton won the Maker’s 46 Mile (G1) here in April and will attempt to join Wise Dan (2014) as the only horse to win the Maker’s 46 Mile and Shadwell Turf Mile in the same year. Victor Espinoza, who won the Shadwell Turf Mile in 1999 on Kirkwall (GB), will have the mount Saturday on Jack Milton and break from post position 11.
Seek Again won the 2013 Hollywood Derby (G1) and finished sixth behind Wise Dan in last year’s Shadwell Turf Mile. Trained by two-time race winner Bill Mott, Seek Again will break from post position 13 and be ridden by Julien Leparoux.
Bobby’s Kitten, trained by Chad Brown, won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) at 6½ furlongs with a last-to-first run in the 14-horse field. Mike Smith has the call on Bobby’s Kitten and will break from post position nine.
The field for the Shadwell Turf Mile with riders and weight from the inside out is as follows: War Envoy (Seamus Heffernan, 123 pounds), Kelinni (IRE) (Fergal Lynch, 126), King Kreesa (Manny Franco, 126), Grand Arch (Luis Saez, 126), Dutch Connection (GB) (Jim Crowley, 123), Heart to Heart (Shaun Bridgmohan, 126), Grand Tito (Edgar Prado, 126), Skyring (Joe Rocco Jr., 126), Bobby’s Kitten (Smith, 126), The Pizza Man (Geroux, 126), Jack Milton (Espinoza, 126), Tourist (Jose Lezcano, 126) and Seek Again (Leparoux, 126).
Source: Keeneland Association
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