US TV chef Bobby Flay raring for chance to complete Coronation Stakes dream

Forget the Derby and the Gold Cup, the Coronation Stakes is the race American TV icon and celebrity chef Bobby Flay is eager to win most, and he is raring for a slice of the Royal Ascot action with star filly Pizza Bianca next month.

She is set to take on the likes of Cachet and Homeless Songs for the Group 1 prize on June 17 but is already a winner at the elite level, having captured Breeders’ Cup success with an “exhilarating” display in the adoring eyes of Flay.

The owner-breeder has a distinct passion for racing young fillies on the turf and, as such, describes the Coronation as the race he wishes to win most. He tried to no avail in 2011 with More Than Real but believes next month’s runner has an excellent chance following a recent confidence-booster in the Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico.

Flay, best known for popular American competitive cookery shows Beat Bobby Flay and Iron Chef, said: “She’ll be up against the best three-year-old filly milers in the world but I feel she fits in that group. If I didn’t think she did, I wouldn’t send her. Anything can happen but we won’t need the biggest surprise in the world, a small surprise will do.

Pizza Bianca won last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies TurfCredit: Edward Whitaker

“The Breeders’ Cup win was exhilarating and the fact I bred her made it 20 times as special. The next day Nick Smith [director of racing at Ascot] came up to me in the paddock and I just thought ‘let’s do this’. It’s always been my dream to win the Coronation Stakes, for me it might be the biggest race I want to win in the world because I have a passion for racing fillies on the grass. Then it’s at Royal Ascot too and no American-trained horse has won the race.”

Pizza Bianca’s name was formed from a combination of an inspired trip to Rome and her dam’s name White Hot. Flay paid 1.25m guineas for the dam, a half-sister to Derby winner Pour Moi no less, and takes great pleasure from reaping the rewards of his breeding operation.

Coronation Stakes betting and racecard

While he is accustomed to the high-pressure environment of a professional kitchen, he believes success at Royal Ascot – where he describes the culinary offering as like “menus from the most exclusive wedding ever” – would provide a much greater thrill.

“I’m in the restaurant business and I cook competitively on TV so I do have a competitive nature,” he said. “With racing, it’s one where I’m not on the playing field, I’m the coach. The horses are like my professional sports team and I hope they’re in the best care and at the right level. It’s a nice way to get away from what I do but my record on ‘Beat Bobby Flay’ is better than the record of my racehorses.

“I love the horses most but also the experiences that they can take you on. A horse like Pizza Bianca takes you to different places and being able to go to Royal Ascot with my friends and family and having an amazing experience is really part of it. There’s very few feelings that match racing.”

Read more on Royal Ascot:

Superb Homeless Songs Royal Ascot-bound after Irish 1,000 Guineas demolition job

Gold Cup next for Trueshan as Sandown going prompts change of plan

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday