Whats your take on Gio Ponti's career?

[Zippy Chippy]

I'm guessing today was his last race. Over the past year i noticed some people saying how he always runs 2nd, no excuse etc. I really liked this horse and wish you could have gone out on a winning note.
His finishes

22 Stars
9 wins (7 G1s)
8 2nds (Runner up to Zenyatta, Goldikova, Court Vision twice)

5 out of the money

[PaceAdvantage]

Did I miss any news? I haven't been paying much attention to his career lately...was this to be his last race?

If I remember correctly, this was his first start off the layoff. I didn't think he had much of a shot given he didn't have a prep race for this...

But I don't see why this should be his last race...he put in a decent run and was beaten less than two lengths...

[Zippy Chippy]

Did I miss any news? I haven't been paying much attention to his career lately...was this to be his last race?

If I remember correctly, this was his first start off the layoff. I didn't think he had much of a shot given he didn't have a prep race for this...

But I don't see why this should be his last race...he put in a decent run and was beaten less than two lengths...

I was actually reading on another forum that he runs in Dubai and then retires in April.

[Zippy Chippy]

My bad. I was reading this and thought it was solid news, but probably just somone making an assumption. Good, like to see him a couple more times.

"At least one more big time race from Gio… bad thing is that its in March and Gio will be retired in April!"

[PaceAdvantage]

It appears this won't be his last race, according to an article in the DRF a few days ago...when asked about his lack of a prep race, trainer Christophe Clement had this to say:

“We had two options, to run him in World Cup, or, choice Number 2, run him in Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland,” Clement said. “That’s not quite the same kind of challenge. We can always have a safer campaign for the second part of the year."

[GatetoWire]

I'm guessing today was his last race. Over the past year i noticed some people saying how he always runs 2nd, no excuse etc. I really liked this horse and wish you could have gone out on a winning note.
His finishes

22 Stars
9 wins (7 G1s)
8 2nds (Runner up to Zenyatta, Goldikova, Court Vision twice)

5 out of the money

I think Gio Ponti is a very good if not great horse. Clement has done a great job with him and although he doesn't always win, he does always put in a solid effort.
His career was obviously helped by the creation of Poly tracks and the fact that Santa Anita hosted the Breeders Cup Classic on Poly Track.
His ability to do well in Dubai and finishing second in the classic has turned him from a solid grass horse into a solid elite world runner.

[Tom]

Why they took him there in the fist place is beyond me.
Why travel all that distance and then fail to prep him?
Not I think it would have made a difference, but the whole trip seems like a waste of time. Did he get good money for being an "extra" in the race?

[Robert Fischer]

he did his thing.


one of the stars of the '11 DWC.


up to him/them whats next

[Dahoss9698]

Why they took him there in the fist place is beyond me.
Why travel all that distance and then fail to prep him?
Not I think it would have made a difference, but the whole trip seems like a waste of time. Did he get good money for being an "extra" in the race?

10 million reasons for the trip over a course he has handled.

I agree, they should have given him a prep and I know they had been looking for one for weeks, but he was never entered.

But he did earn $300,000 for his 5th place finish which is a pretty nice chunk of change. Hardly a wasted trip.

[Tom]

300k for 5th?
Not bad.

[Dahoss9698]

300k for 5th?
Not bad.

Plus I'm pretty sure shipping is taken care of and all that goes into housing the horse while there by the hosts. He might have won with a little pace help.

[Tom]

I think he needed more conditioning than pace help, but I do not believe he was good enough to win. I threw him out based on his figs and his layoff.

[Hanover1]

I recall a few on here last year or so, accusing this horse of being a hanger. Sour grapes perhaps, but the response remains: If he is a hanger, I'll take a barn full of them.....

[ArlJim78]

I still like him more at 8 or 9 furlongs. I think that is where he shines, although he hardly disgraces himself no matter what the conditions of the race.

[the little guy]

I still like him more at 8 or 9 furlongs. I think that is where he shines, although he hardly disgraces himself no matter what the conditions of the race.


The problem with this thinking is that the single best turf race he has ever run was the 1 3/8 Man O War at Belmont in 2009 ( not his 2010 win ). Plus, all three of his 1 1/4 synth races, the 2009 BC Classic and the last two World Cups, could well be considered his finest efforts. In the Classic, he ran second to arguably the best synth performer ever, in perhaps her finest synth performance, and in both World Cups he was hampered by dramatically slow paces, after not shipping well after travelling half way around the world.

While you can say you like him at those shorter distances, his lifetime pps do not back that up.

[ArlJim78]

The problem with this thinking is that the single best turf race he has ever run was the 1 3/8 Man O War at Belmont in 2009 ( not his 2010 win ). Plus, all three of his 1 1/4 synth races, the 2009 BC Classic and the last two World Cups, could well be considered his finest efforts. In the Classic, he ran second to arguably the best synth performer ever, in perhaps her finest synth performance, and in both World Cups he was hampered by dramatically slow paces, after not shipping well after travelling half way around the world.

While you can say you like him at those shorter distances, his lifetime pps do not back that up.
The lifetime PP's don't back me up because he seldom ran at those distances I suggested. When he did, like those last two mile races one at Keeneland and the runnerup to Goldikova (arguably the best miler in the world), to my eye looked like superior efforts, with a much better finish.

In the BC classic and the two world cups, they were good efforts, but you're talking about a second, a fourth and a fifth place finish, like I said no disgrace at all. But I feel the second in the BC mile beating everyone but Goldikova was even better.

[the little guy]

The lifetime PP's don't back me up because he seldom ran at those distances I suggested. When he did, like those last two mile races one at Keeneland and the runnerup to Goldikova (arguably the best miler in the world), to my eye looked like superior efforts, with a much better finish.

In the BC classic and the two world cups, they were good efforts, but you're talking about a second, a fourth and a fifth place finish, like I said no disgrace at all. But I feel the second in the BC mile beating everyone but Goldikova was even better.

Getting overly caught up in where horses actually finished, as a specific ordering, when judging performances is a mistake in my opinion, and find it hard to believe his last win at Keeneland, at one mile, can realistically be considered close to as good as the three 1 1/4 synth races mentioned.

To each his own but I would take a MUCH closer look at his Keeneland race, from dynamics to who finished second.

[ukbro00]

From a financial standpoint, it makes no sense to retire him now. He is 100% sound, and can easily get another $1,000,000+ this year by running in the same races he ran in last year.

[the little guy]

From a financial standpoint, it makes no sense to retire him now. He is 100% sound, and can easily get another $1,000,000+ this year by running in the same races he ran in last year.


I don't think " easily " is fair for a 6YO that won't even start again until the middle of June at the earliest.

[lamboguy]

he ran a great race yesterday, we will have to see how much weight he loses on the back and forth trip to see when he comes back.

[joanied]

Lots of good opinions and observations of Gio P. IMO, I beleive if he'd had that prep for the DWC, he would have ran better...everytime they mentioned the surface in an interview or during odds talk, it was said the track was very tiring, one person, I think Baffert, said it was 'gooey"...so between no prep and a tiring surface, really no surprise...he he did run well enough to take a piece of the purse.
I'm crazy about this colt, and I hope they do continue with him this year...I also would not consider him a horse that hangs, just a horse that's had some bad luck in both race set ups and who he's finished 2nd to...as in the likes of Goldikova and Zenyatta...no shame in that!!

[FlowerEssence]

I wonder if they were also trying for more exposure as an international stud stud prospect with Gio. As a son of Tale of the Cat, he doesn't have as much value as a stud prospect here as he would elsewhere. Lion Heart getting shipped off probably alarmed them.

[joanied]

I wouldn't hesitate to breed a mare to him (if she was a good match)...he's great looking...well balanced, is,IMO, quite versital in surface & distance, and he's sound...I'm not a big fan of Tale of the Cat, but I'll excuse Gio P on that count!!