Gio Ponti | |
---|---|
Sire | Tale of the Cat |
Grandsire | Storm Cat |
Dam | Chipeta Springs |
Damsire | Alydar |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 2005 |
Country | United States |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Kilboy Estate |
Owner | Castleton Lyons |
Trainer | Christophe Clement |
Record | 29: 12-10-1 |
Earnings | $6,169,800 [1] |
Major wins | |
Bourbon Stakes (2007) Hill Prince Stakes (2008) Sir Beaufort Stakes (2008) Virginia Derby (2008) Manhattan Handicap (2009) Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap (2009) Man o' War Stakes (2009, 2010) Arlington Million (2009) Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (2010, 2011) Breeders' Cup placings: 2nd: Breeders' Cup Classic (2009) & Breeders' Cup Mile (2010) | |
Awards | |
American Champion Male Turf Horse (2009, 2010) American Champion Older Male Horse (2009) | |
Last updated on March 25, 2010 |
Gio Ponti (foaled February 28, 2005 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred race horse who was the Champion Turf Horse in 2009 and 2010, and finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeder's Cup Classic. He was sired by Tale of the Cat, a son of Storm Cat, out of the stakes-placed Alydar mare Chipeta Springs, making him half-brother to stakes-winner Fisher Pond.
During his racing career, Gio Ponti was owned by Castleton Lyons and trained by Christophe Clement. [2]
Named for a well-known Italian artist and architect, Gio Ponti began racing in the silks of Shane Ryan's Castleton Lyons Farm under trainer Christophe Clement and broke his maiden in his first start as a two-year-old at Belmont Park, winning by 2½ lengths. He was then entered in the Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland in his second start, where he scored the first stakes win of his career. After an unplaced effort in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, he was given time off to prepare for his 3-year-old campaign.
At 3, Gio Ponti gained graded stakes success in the G3 Hill Prince Stakes at Belmont, the G2 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs, and the G3 Sir Beaufort Stakes at Santa Anita. He was also runner up in the G2 Del Mar Derby at Del Mar and the G2 Jamaica Handicap at Belmont. By the end of his three-year-old year, he had $820,800 in career earnings over turf and synthetic surfaces.
At age 4, the bay colt won four consecutive Grade One races: the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap, Manhattan Handicap, Man o' War Stakes, and Arlington Million, making him one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Turf. After an upset [3] in the Turf Classic Invitational, his owners decided to point him towards the Breeders' Cup Classic instead, which was run at a more favorable distance of 1¼ miles, as opposed to the Turf's 1½ mile distance. However, Gio Ponti lost to the then-undefeated mare Zenyatta. [4]
Shortly after the Breeders' Cup Classic, Gio Ponti's connections announced he would remain in training for 2010 and be pointed toward the Dubai World Cup. He started the year with a second in the Tampa Bay stakes. In the Dubai World Cup, he was boxed in and then went to the far outside, finishing fourth. [5]
In 2010, Gio Ponti first raced at Belmont Park, where he was second in the Manhattan Handicap, and first in the Man O' War Stakes. He then ran in the Arlington Million but lost to Debussy. At Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, under jockey Ramon Dominguez he won the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes, earning a spot in the Breeders' Cup with a "Win and You're In" berth. In the 2010 Breeders' Cup Mile, Gio Ponti ran second to the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame mare Goldikova. As Clement once put it, "He is very well educated - ladies first." His efforts earned him the title of Eclipse Male Turf champion for the second straight year.
In 2011, Gio Ponti won the Grade 1 Shadwell Mile, finished second in the Arlington Million and Man O' War, and ran fourth in his fourth Breeders’ Cup start, this time in the Mile. He earned $6.1 million in 28 starts, making him one of the richest Thoroughbreds in America of all time.
Sire Tale of the Cat | Storm Cat | Storm Bird | Northern Dancer |
---|---|---|---|
South Ocean | |||
Terlingua | Secretariat | ||
Crimson Saint | |||
Yarn | Mr. Prospector | Raise A Native | |
Gold Digger | |||
Narrate | Honest Pleasure | ||
State | |||
Dam Chipeta Springs | Alydar | Raise A Native | Native Dancer |
Raise You | |||
Sweet Tooth | On-and-On | ||
Plum Cake | |||
Salt Spring (ARG) | Salt Marsh | Tom Rolfe | |
Saline | |||
Jungle Mythologic (ARG) | Mount Athos (GB) | ||
Jungle Queen (ARG) |
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of 1+1⁄4 miles (2,000 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October or early November. All of the races to date have been held in the United States except for the 1996 edition held at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada.
The Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three year olds and older over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting.
A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level is then assigned to the race, based on statistical analysis of the quality of the field in previous years, provided the race meets the minimum purse criteria for the grade in question. In Canada, a similar grading system is maintained by the Jockey Club of Canada. Graded stakes races are similar to Group races in Europe but the grading is more dynamic in North America.
Azeri is an American Hall of Fame champion thoroughbred racehorse who was 2002 US Horse of the Year and Champion Older Female from 2002 to 2004.
Garrett Keith Gomez was an American Thoroughbred jockey who won two Eclipse Awards and thirteen Breeders' Cup races during his career.
Ramón A. Domínguez is a retired Eclipse Award-winning champion jockey and Hall of Fame member in American thoroughbred horse racing.
English Channel was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and a leading sire of turf horses in North America. In four years of racing, he competed in 23 races, winning 13, finishing second in four, and finishing third in one. His final victory came at the 2007 Breeders' Cup Turf, where he set a record for this race when he won by seven lengths. Following this race, he was retired to stud in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge is a series of Thoroughbred horse races in which the winner earns an automatic spot in a specified Breeders' Cup race. The challenge races change somewhat each year. The Challenge series began in 2007 with 24 "Win and You're In" races from 2 countries. By 2014, the series had grown to 71 races across 13 countries. During that period, 24 winners of Breeders' Cup races had qualified via the challenge series.
Zenyatta is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2008, 2009 and 2010. She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2016.
Chad C. Brown is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer known for his expertise with turf horses and with fillies and mares. He has trained ten Eclipse Award winners including Stacelita, Big Blue Kitten, Lady Eli, Flintshire, and Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. After receiving the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer of 2016, he won his first Triple Crown race with Cloud Computing in the 2017 Preakness Stakes. He also won the Eclipse Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Einstein was a Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in the United States.
The 2009 Breeders' Cup World Championships were the 26th edition of thoroughbred racing's season ending premier event, and took place on November 6 and 7 during the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The event was telecast by ESPN. The Breeders' Cup is generally regarded as the end of the North America racing season, although a few Grade I events take place in later November and December.
Life Is Sweet is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who in early 2009 was thought to be a threat to her unbeaten stablemate, Zenyatta, after winning three straight stakes races. Though beaten by Zenyatta.
Cocoa Beach is a notable Chilean-bred thoroughbred racehorse who was the 2008 Chilean Horse of the Year and won races in the United Arab Emirates, Chile, and the United States.
Blame is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse, a winner of nine races in 13 starts including the prestigious Breeders' Cup Classic.
Wise Dan is a champion American Hall of Fame and Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. He is the first horse to win the same three Eclipse Awards in consecutive years, having been named American Horse of the Year, Champion Older Male and Champion Male Turf Horse in 2012 and 2013.
Court Vision is a retired racehorse who was a five-time Grade I winner including the Breeders' Cup Mile. Upon retirement to stud in 2012, he first stood in Ontario, then was moved to Kentucky for 2016 then Louisiana for 2017.
The 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic was the 26th running of the Breeders' Cup Classic, part of the 2009 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships program. It was run on November 7, 2009, at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California with a purse of $5,000,000.
Annapolis is a multiple Graded stakes turf winning Thoroughbred racehorse. His Grade I wins in 2022 include the Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland and the Grade II Pilgrim Stakes as a two-year-old in 2021.