The Pizza Man Returns in Black Tie Affair
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Photo: Coady Photography
The Pizza Man will make his 2017 debut Saturday at Arlington International Racecourse
Midwest Thoroughbreds' grade 1 winner The Pizza Man will make his season debut June 17 in the $50,000 Black Tie Affair Handicap at Arlington International Racecourse.
The 1 1/16-mile turf test will mark the first start for the 8-year-old gelding since he finished third in the River City Handicap (G3T) at Churchill Downs in November.
Winner of the 2015 Arlington Million XXXIII Stakes (G1T), Illinois-bred The Pizza Man proved his top-level score was no fluke last year, when he took the Sept. 17 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Presented by HPIBet (G1T) at Woodbine. An earner of more than $2.1 million, the son of English Channel won the 2014 edition of the Black Tie Affair by coming in fresh off an eight-month layoff.
The Pizza Man is the 128-pound highweight in a field of six, and will break from post 3 under Arlington's leading rider Jose Valdivia Jr.
On the rail for Team Block will be 2016 Black Tie Affair winner Cammack, who gets a six-pound break from Roger Brueggemann-trained The Pizza Man in his fourth start of the year. The 7-year-old son of Giant's Causeway earned trainer Chris Block his seventh win in the stakes with his wire-to-wire victory last year and comes in off a pair of wins, including the Old Man Eloquent Stakes at Gulfstream Park going 1 1/16 miles on the grass Feb. 20. C. H. Marquez Jr., who has ridden Cammack to four of his 10 wins, will get the leg up.
Breaking between the two heavyweights is Cherrywood Racing Stables' Super Soldier for trainer Michele Boyce. The 7-year-old son of Lost Soldier set the pace in the 2015 Black Tie Affair, but was caught late and finished third, a half-length behind the winner. Coming off a June 3 win on the Arlington turf with the gelding, jockey Julio Felix retains the mount from post 2.
Oak Brook, Always A Catch, and Empirestrikesagain complete the lineup.