A homebred Fastnet Rock filly for celebrity chef and horse breeder Bobby Flay, the Christophe Clement trained Pizza Bianca closed out her juvenile season in the US winning the Group I Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (1m) and is now on track for a tilt at Royal Ascot.
Second at her first run back this year, Pizza Bianca stepped out in the $100,000 Hilltop Stakes (1m) on turf at Pimlico on Friday and produced her A game winning by a length and three-quarters.
Ridden patiently by Jose Ortiz, Pizza Bianca settled back in the field and powered to the line to win running away.
“Jose did exactly what we were hoping for,” Flay said.
“She broke; he kind of put her to sleep around the track; asked her a little bit; and she performed very nice. Really, a sigh of relief, but also just a beautiful performance.”
The Group I Coronation Stakes (1m) at Royal Ascot is the target race for Pizza Bianca, who has the overall record of three wins and two seconds from five starts with over $700,000 in prizemoney.
“I ran in that race in 2011 with More Than Real,” Flay said.
“She didn’t run that well, but it doesn’t matter. It was an amazing experience. To me, this is what this is all about. These horses can take you on experiences of a lifetime.”
Pizza Bianca is the first winner for White Hot, an unraced Galileo mare that was bought by Bobby Flay for 1,250,000gns as a yearling at the 2014 Tattersalls October sale.
White Hot might not have delivered on the racetrack, but her pedigree as a three-quarter sister to Group I Epsom Derby winner Pour Moi would suggest her offspring may well atone for that shortcoming.
Fastnet Rock has had Group I winners all over the world and stands at Coolmore Australia this spring at a fee of $165,000.
