Pizza Bianca Gets Clement Off the Schneid

In the 1997 Breeders' Cup not far away at old Hollywood Park, trainer Christophe Clement made a favorable impression with his first-ever starter at the championships, sending out Allen Paulson's Flag Down (Deputy Minister) to a sound third-place effort behind Chief Bearhart (Chief's Crown) in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. Thirty-nine starters had represented the stable in the 22 years since, each walked back to the barn a defeated animal.

You couldn't have faulted the Frenchman if he'd begun to feel a bit like the late Bobby Frankel, who saddled 36 starters in the Breeders' Cup before Squirtle Squirt (Marquetry) snapped his own dubious streak in 2001. But for trainers as capable as Christophe Clement, skids like this are bound to end sooner and not later, and so it was Friday afternoon when Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), a homebred for celebrity chef and Breeders' Cup ambassador Bobby Flay, slalomed home down the Del Mar lane to give the owner a second win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, joining 2010 victress More Than Real (More Than Ready). Ryan Moore worked out a good trip from an awkward draw aboard French raider Malavath (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), whose rails run through the final furlong fell just short, while 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker), who just snuck into the race, finished a promising third.

Pizza Bianca was the recipient of a very quiet Joel Rosario ride at just over 5-1 on Saratoga debut July 22, and came with a wide sweep off no pace whatsoever to outfinish odds-on Expand the Map (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) by three-parts of a length. Tested for class in the GI Natalma S. at Woodbine Sept. 19, the homebred was more forwardly placed while clipping the hedge  for the opening half-mile, traveled nicely into the race nearing the straight and was short of room a furlong and a half out before boxing on gamely for second to Godolphin's Wild Beauty (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who'd have likely gone favored for Friday's race had she made the trans-Atlantic journey.

With Rosario opting for the undefeated Koala Princess (More Than Ready)–somewhat surprisingly sent off the betting favorite at 9-2–Jose Ortiz inherited the ride on Pizza Bianca, and the duo was off to an uneventful beginning from gate one. Allowed to drift back through the field, the dark bay raced with about three behind early as the positively ridden G1 Fillies' Mile third Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}) set a moderate pace in advance of Turnerloose (Nyquist), with Mise En Scene (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) posted three wide for Oisin Murphy. With only GII JP Morgan Chase Jessamine S. upsetter California Angel (California Chrome) in her rear-view passing the half-mile pole, Pizza Bianca was outfooted into the turn by the latter, relegating her to last with three furlongs to race, but she nevertheless traveled strongly, appearing only to need somewhere to run when push came to shove.

Sent through an opening one off the fence between the rail-skimming Malavath and Consumer Spending (More Than Ready) as they neared the eighth pole, Pizza Bianca hit another gear to whoosh past a stubborn front-running Cachet and Hello You (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) with time ticking away and flashed under the wire first.

“Very nice. Great win,” said Clement. “I'm delighted. I was surprised [agent] Ron Anderson and Rosario didn't ride the filly because we always thought that she a nice one and she proved us right today. I'm absolutely thrilled with the confidence showed in us. It's nice.”

Pedigree Notes:

On behalf of Flay, renowned bloodstock agent James Delahooke went to 1.25 million guineas ($2,122,050) for White Hot at the 2014 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. The fifth-priciest offering in Book 1, White Hot was, at the time, a half-sister to 2011 G1 Investec Derby hero Pour Moi (Ire) and to MGSW & MG1SP Gagnoa (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). Flay entered White Hot carrying to Fastnet Rock (Ire) in the 2017 Tattersalls December Mares sale, but elected to withdraw her and that decision had proved fruitful, even prior to Friday's event.

Gagnoa's foal of 2017, the filly Etoile (War Front), took out the G3 Juvenile Fillies Sprint at Naas in 2019, while the current 2-year-old colt out of Gagnoa, Ancient Rome (War Front), has done his part to flatter the family with a victory in this year's G3 Prix des Chenes and runner-up efforts in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International this season. White Hot's full-brother Dawn Patrol (Ire) was the winner of the G3 Loughbrown S. and was third in the G1 Irish Derby in 2020. This is also the female family of G1 Epsom Derby hero Lammtarra, Hector Protector and Bosra Sham, et al.

Pizza Bianca is the first Breeders' Cup winner for the exceptional dual-hemisphere stallion Fastnet Rock (Aus) (Danehill) and is his seventh championship starter from his Northern Hemisphere-foaled crops. Pizza Bianca is the 42nd top-level winner for her sire, joining GI Man O'War S. heroine Zhukova (Ire), who is also out of a Galileo mare. She is also the stallion's 182nd worldwide black-type winner and 114th graded/group winner. Pizza Bianca is a mind-boggling 227th SW, 123rd GSW and 37th G1/GISW out of a daughter of the late Galileo. Cover Song, a daughter of Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), won the 2016 GIII Autumn Miss S. for Spendthrift Farm and was purchased by Flay (James Delahooke, agent), for $1.6 million at FTKNOV a short time later. He RNAd Cover Song, in foal to Dubawi (Ire), for $3.9 million at FTKNOV in 2018.

White Hot was barren to Quality Road for 2020, but foaled a colt by Uncle Mo this past Feb. 4 and was most recently bred to Not This Time.

Friday, Del Mar
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF-GI, $920,000, Del Mar, 11-5, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.08, fm.
1–PIZZA BIANCA, 122, f, 2, by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
                1st Dam: White Hot (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Gwynn (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
                3rd Dam: Victoress, by Conquistador Cielo
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
   WIN. O/B-Bobby Flay (KY); T-Christophe Clement; J-Jose L.
Ortiz. $520,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $637,635. Werk
   Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Malavath (Ire), 122, f, 2, by Mehmas (Ire)
                1st Dam: Fidaaha (Ire), by New Approach (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Ceist Eile (Ire), by Noverre
                3rd Dam: Sharafanya (Ire), by Zafonic
(£29,000 Ylg '20 GOFFUK; €139,200 2yo '21 ARQDEA).
O-Everest Racing, Redvers, David and Keller, Barbara; B-Tally
Ho Stud (IRE); T-Francis – Henri Graffard. $170,000.
3–Haughty, 122, f, 2, by Empire Maker
                1st Dam: Soaring Emotions, by Kingmambo
                2nd Dam: Luminous Beauty, by A.P. Indy
                3rd Dam: Caerlina (Ire), by Caerleon
'TDN Rising Star'. ($70,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $310,000 2yo
'21 OBSAPR). O-Bradley Thoroughbreds, Belmar Racing and
Breeding, LLC, Tim & Anna Cambron & Team Hanley;
B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. (KY); T-Chad C. Brown.
$90,000.
Margins: HF, NK, HD. Odds: 9.90, 17.70, 6.00.
Also Ran: Cachet (Ire), Hello You (Ire), Consumer Spending, Koala Princess, Helens Well (Ire), Cairo Memories, Mise En Scene (GB), California Angel, Bubble Rock, Sail By, Turnerloose.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

 

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Echo Zulu Obliterates Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Field

When a heavy favorite enters any athletic contest, the best strategy can sometimes be to never let the underdog get into the game. Echo Zulu employed that exact game plan to perfection in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Friday at Del Mar, and all but guaranteed herself an Eclipse Award at the end of the year.

The 2-year-old Gun Runner filly was hustled out of the gate from the outside post by jockey Joel Rosario, who trainer Steve Asmussen named aboard Echo Zulu for the Juvenile Fillies instead of regular rider Ricardo Santana, Jr. Rosario and Echo Zulu quickly worked their way in to the rail, and snuffed out the oxygen of any rival trying to fight for the early fractions.

Echo Zulu was safely ahead of next-closest Tarabi, as she led the field into an opening quarter-mile in :23.42 seconds, while Desert Dawn and Juju's Map battled a length behind Tarabi for third position. The leader continued to maintain a one-length advantage over Tarabi across the backstretch as the half-mile point passed in :47.01 seconds.

The field bunched up behind Echo Zulu, and the duo of Tarabi and Juju's Map got to the outside hip of the leader as they approached the turn, but Echo Zulu promptly repelled the challengers, and put them several lengths behind her heading into the turn, all without Rosario's hands leaving the reins.

“She is amazing,” Rosario said. “She is fast, has so much speed and it looks like she is not going that fast. Today she liked what she was doing up there (in the front) and when I asked her, she just took off. She's just amazing.”

Rosario did little else but shake the reins aboard Echo Zulu down the Del Mar stretch, as the filly drew off to win by 5 1/4 lengths. Juju's Map carried on for second, a half-length ahead of Tarabi.

Echo Zulu completed the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:42.24 over a fast main track, paying $3.60 to win as the overwhelming favorite.

Friday's Breeders' Cup victory improved Echo Zulu's lifetime record to a perfect four-for-four and all but clinched the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year-old filly. Echo Zulu won on debut in Saratoga in July, then took the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes at the same track. Her most recent start prior to the Breeders' Cup was a 7 1/4-length demolishing of the G1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 3.

“The level of proud is just unbelievable, with her being in the first crop of Gun Runner, what he's done for us,” Asmussen said. “A filly that came through mom and dad's program in Laredo. She's just brilliant. She's faster than they are. It's as simple as that. We're just so fortunate to be around her.”

Asmussen trains Echo Zulu for the partnership of L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds.

It was an especially satisfying victory for the Winchell operation, which also campaigned sire Gun Runner to a Breeders' Cup Classic win at Del Mar in 2017. Echo Zulu's victory also made it a virtual guarantee that Gun Runner will finish atop the freshman sire standings in 2021, having already entered the Breeders' Cup card with a healthy lead by earnings.

“It reminds me of Gun Runner,” owner Ron Winchell said. “She got out there and took command. Then took it down a notch, relaxed and got it done in the stretch. It looked a lot like (Gun Runner's) Pegasus: out, over, relax and then go.”

Bred in Kentucky by the partnership of Betz/J. Betz/Burns/CHNNHK/Magers/CoCo Equine/Ramsby, Echo Zulu was a $300,000 purchase by Winchell Thoroughbreds at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Quotes from other connections:

Trainer Brad Cox (second with Juju's Map) – “She broke a little slow and (Florent Geroux)a put her in a good position. She raced a little wide, but she was no match for the winner. Second best today. Bottom line. No excuse.”

Trainer Cherie DeVaux (third with Tarabi) – “She ran great stretching out for the first time. The pace didn't unfold the way it looked on paper, so Javier (Castellano) went to Plan B and she ran great, so we're really happy with her performance. It's awesome to come in and have her show up off a layoff and doing something she hasn't done. Our team is great, so I'm very proud of everyone.”

Jockey Javier Castellano (third with Tarabi) – “We had a beautiful trip.  I was very happy with her race. She broke good and was right behind the winner all the way.  She was running very strong down the stretch and was fighting to be second.  It's no disrespect to run third to a champion.”

Trainer Bret Calhoun (fourth with Hidden Connection) – “I'm very disappointed. We had a little higher expectations today. She got a little unnerved in the warmup and stumbled away from there and lost a little position early. Reylu (Gutierrez) had to use her a little bit to get back into position and she didn't have the answer today.”

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Echo Zulu Fires Big in Juvenile Fillies

DEL MAR, CA – During an interview in these pages earlier this week, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen described returning to Del Mar–the site of Gun Runner's 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Classic victory–with a member of his first crop favored for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies as “dreaming.”

The dream run certainly continued for L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds' Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) Friday, capping a perfect four-for-four championship season with a powerhouse, 5 1/4-length, wire-to-wire performance in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Juju's Map (Liam's Map), winner of the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland, was second; Tarabi (First Samurai) was third.

“A very special filly,” said Asmussen after saddling his second winner in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and eighth overall at the World Championships. “She means so much to us, and the fact that she is from the first crop of Gun Runner, everything that he did for us, it's surreal that we're back here at Del Mar for the second Breeders' Cup when his crowning moment was the Breeders' Cup [Classic] here in 2017.”

He continued, “She's just brilliant. She's faster than they are. It's as simple as that. We're just so fortunate to be around her.”

Any similarities to her sire, the 2017 Horse of the Year?

“I think what we've seen, especially today, is how she carries [her speed], what a fluid mover she is and the middle fractions where Gun Runner just seemed to move so effortlessly and horses didn't stay at the same rate he did, that's how she seems to be in her races,” Asmussen replied.

On the engine beneath Joel Rosario while drawn widest of all in post six, Echo Zulu quickly cleared the field passing the stands for the first time and it was pretty much over from there. The 4-5 favorite clicked off sensible fractions of :23.42 and :47.01, began to give them the slip rounding the far turn and was handridden to a championship-sealing performance. The final time of 1:42.24 was a tick faster than the 1:42.50 final clocking established by fellow 'Rising Star' Corniche (Quality Road) later on the card in the Juvenile.

“She is amazing,” said Rosario after riding his 14th Breeders' Cup winner. “She is fast, has so much speed and it looks like she is not going that fast. Today, she liked what she was doing up there and when I asked her, she just took off. She's just amazing.”

Tabbed as a 'Rising Star' in a flashy Saratoga unveiling going 5 1/2 furlongs, Echo Zulu made good on the promise, with dominating front-running wins with matching 90 Beyer Speed Figures in Saratoga's GI Spinaway S. going seven furlongs Sept. 5 and Belmont's one-turn mile GI Frizette S. Oct. 3, respectively. The aforementioned Tarabi was second in the Spinaway. Frizette runner-up Gerrymander (Into Mischief) returned to capture Friday's Tempted S. at Belmont.

Echo Zulu was making her two-turn debut while ridden by Rosario for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies. Ricardo Santana, Jr. piloted Echo Zulu to all three of her previous victories.

Winchell Thoroughbreds, of course, campaigned Gun Runner in partnership, and has also won Breeders' Cup races with Untapable (Distaff) and Tapizar (Dirt Mile), respectively.

“It's something you always dream about when you have a horse like Gun Runner, and first crop getting a, what will be, a champion 2-year-old filly,” Ron Winchell said. “So for us to actually own it and what we did with Gun Runner like Steve [Asmussen] was saying it just makes it that much more special.”

L and N Racing-a partnership comprised of Lee Levinson, his sons Michael and Andy, and family friend Don Nelson-had its colors carried by GISW Echo Town (Speightstown) as well as Kentucky Derby runner-up Lookin At Lee.

“I'm still in shock,” Lee Levinson concluded with a laugh. “And I'm an attorney. I speak for a living, and I can't talk.”

Pedigree Notes:

Echo Zulu, a $300,000 KEESEP graduate, is a half-sister to the Asmussen-trained fellow 'Rising Star' and GI Runhappy H. Allen Jerkens S. winner and young Ashford Stud sire Echo Town. Standing at Three Chimneys Farm, freshman sire Gun Runner is responsible for a leading four graded stakes winners, including the Asmussen-trained GI Hopeful S. winner Gunite. Gun Runner's Pappacap also completed the exacta in the Juvenile later on the program. Echo Zulu is a half-sister to another 'Rising Star' in J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW, $377,543; and Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song), GSP, $253,478. Letgomyecho's 2020 filly by American Pharoah brought $1.4 million–the highest price for a filly–from Northshore Bloodstock on behalf of Joe Allen at this year's Keeneland September Sale. Echo Zulu's dam was talented herself, winning by 5 1/2 lengths in her Calder debut as a newly turned 3-year-old and streaking to a three-for-three record in the 2005 GII Forward Gal S.

Friday, Del Mar
NETJETS BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES-GI, $1,760,000, Del Mar, 11-5, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:42.24, ft.
1–ECHO ZULU, 122, f, 2, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Letgomyecho (GSW, $136,200), by Menifee
                2nd Dam: Echo Echo Echo, by Eastern Echo
                3rd Dam: Kashie West, by Sir Ivor
'TDN Rising Star'. ($300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-L and N Racing
LLC & Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Betz/J. Betz/Burns/
CHNNHK/Magers/ CoCo Equine/Ramsby (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record:
4-4-0-0, $1,480,000. *1/2 to Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's
Song), GSP, $253,478; 1/2 to J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), GSW,
$377,543; 1/2 to Echo Town (Speightstown), GISW, $410,020.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Juju's Map, 122, f, 2, by Liam's Map
                1st Dam: Nagambie, by Flatter
                2nd Dam: Charming N Lovable, by Horse Chestnut (SAf)
                3rd Dam: St Lucinda, by St. Jovite
($190,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-Brad Cox. $340,000.
3–Tarabi, 122, f, 2, by First Samurai
                1st Dam: Indian Bay, by Indian Charlie
                2nd Dam: Buy the Barrel, by E Dubai
                3rd Dam: Affordable Price, by Drouilly (Fr)
($240,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-LBD Stable LLC, Manganaro
Bloodstock & David Ingordo; B-Hinkle Farms (KY); T-Cherie
DeVaux. $180,000.
Margins: 5 1/4, HF, 7 3/4. Odds: 0.80, 3.00, 9.80.
Also Ran: Hidden Connection, Sequist, Desert Dawn.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Twilight Gleaming Completes Ward, Ortiz Hat Trick In Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint

Stonestreet Stables' Twilight Gleaming was the quickest 2-year-old out of the starting gate in Friday's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, then never relinquished her lead to give both conditioner Wesley Ward and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. their third straight win in the Grade 2 event. The Irish-bred daughter of National Defense beat the 12-strong field with a gate-to-wire performance timed in 56.24 seconds over Del Mar's firm turf course.

“She surprised me a little bit the way she broke today,” said Ortiz. “She was ready to win today.”

“You could just tell she was figuring it out,” said Stonestreet's Barbara Banke, who was recently elected as the first female chairperson of the Breeders' Cup.

A 5-1 chance at the start, Twilight Gleaming held off the late run of the David Loughnane-trained Go Bears Go (12-1) by a half-length on the wire. Ward trainee Kaufymaker (24-1) completed the trifecta, with Derrynane (10-1) finishing fourth. The 8-5 favorite, Ward-trained Averly Jane, checked in fifth.

“I was really confident in this filly,” Ward said. “I feel bad for the other two owners because we are all trying to win, but this filly, she had good spacing from her win in France and every work at Keeneland just kept getting better and better. She was coming into it just fresh and fit and ready to go and she did it.

“And, I'm not just saying this because she's Barbara Banke, but Barbara has been a loyal supporter of ours and she really got the itch to go over to England. We got some good horses and Ben McElroy got this filly for her and we bought some others for next year to go to Ascot with and I'm excited to see those. She's just such a great lady and she loves the sport. We are really excited.”

Twilight Gleaming out-broke the field by nearly a length, and Ortiz simply went on with the filly. One Timer came up on her outside to press the first quarter in 21.61 seconds, hanging with the leader all the way through the turn. Twilight Jet and Averly Jane made up the next pair, while Run Curtis Run and Kaufymaker were also prominent early.

One Timer dropped away nearing the straight, and Ortiz took that opportunity to ask Twilight Gleaming to sneak away from the field. She got away by nearly two lengths at the three-sixteenths pole, before the rush of closers began to make their moves. Go Bears Go was moving best of all late under John Velazquez, but came up just a half-length short at the wire. It was another half-length back to Kaufymaker in third, with Derrynane a head behind in fourth, and Averly Jane a nose back in fifth.

The remaining order of finish was: Hierarchy, Vertiginious, Armor, One Timer, Twilight Jet, Time To Party, and Run Curtis Run.

Bred in Ireland by Pier House Stud, Twilight Gleaming is out of the Dansili mare Thames Pageant. She was a $96,931 yearling purchase at Goffs, and ran second on the dirt in her Keeneland debut in April 2021. Switched to the turf at Belmont Park in May, Twilight Gleaming graduated by 7 1/2 lengths. Ward was impressed enough to run her in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which she ran second to the highly-regarded Queen Suzy.

Twilight Gleaming returned overseas in August to run in a listed stakes race, which she won by a neck in convincing fashion. The long break before the Breeders' Cup was by designed, Ward explained, and the filly responded with her first graded stakes win.

Her record stands at three wins and two seconds from five starts, with earnings of $637,251. Ward and Ortiz combined to win this race in 2019 with Four Wheel Drive and 2020 with Golden Pal. It is the fifth Breeders' Cup victory for Ward and the 12th for Ortiz.

Quotes from other connections:

Trainer Dave Loughnane (second with Go Bears Go) – “I'm a bit emotional really, he's a superstar. He's been life changing for us. He just sat in the gates for half a stride which might have cost him the race but I can't be disappointed. I'm very proud of the horse and all the team at home. Johnny (Velazquez) gave him a super ride and on another day he might have won. It's a massive day for my career.”

Jockey John Velazquez (second with Go Bears Go) – “He ran a great race. A little better break and we would have won it. I thought for one second we were going to get it. I wanted to be a bit closer earlier which has cost him but he's run very well.”

Jockey Jose Ortiz (third with Kaufymaker) – “She ran very good. I made the wrong choice at the top of the lane and I decided to go outside and follow Tyler (Gaffalione). I probably should have stayed inside. It was tight on the inside though. In the end, I was happy and she responded well.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione (fifth with favorite Averly Jane) – “She broke sharp but she just didn't really get it going. I looked to my inside and outside and I was already getting outrun. She wasn't grabbing the bit on me so I dropped my hands to see if she will take me a little bit. She did but she just didn't have it today.”

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