Gio Ponti Could Threaten to End Goldikova’s Reign in Breeders’ Cup Mile

Trainer Christophe Clement has been claiming that his three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti has not lost a step, and the reason he was winless heading into last Saturday’s $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) was due mostly to some bad racing luck.

The six-year-old showed he still has something left in the tank as he made his 28th and next to last career start a winning one, defending his title he won in last year’s Shadwell Turf Mile.

The big question heading into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) is whether he can turn the tables on Goldikova, who will come to the U.S. seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the race.

Gio Ponti made a good run at the brilliant mare in last year’s Mile, only to come up 1 ¾ lengths short at the wire.

Has he lost a step or two in the past couple of years?

In his three-year-old campaign in 2008 looking at just his turf races he earned an average Beyer of 97.8. Here are the averages for the past three years, turf races only:

• 2009: 104 (5 turf starts)
• 2010: 100 (6 turf starts)
• 2011: 100 (4 turf starts)

He was best in 2009, and actually would have had a better average except for his 99 in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational (G1) where he got boggy conditions and could not catch the loose on the lead winner Interpatation over ground he did not seem to care for.

His other four turf Beyers in 2009 were 104-106-105-106, all victories.

So we could surmise that he may have lost a length or possibly two over his best season, but with Goldikova running second in three of her last four starts, we might be able to say the same for her.

Gio Ponti had two things going for him last Saturday.

One was jockey Ramon Dominguez kept him closer to the pace. The second thing was the turf was firm, which is just the way the six-year-old seems to like the ground.

If Dominguez can have him in a similar spot in the Mile, and the turf is firm, he looks capable of derailing Goldikova’s plans for her fourth straight win in the Mile.

However, do not forget that there is a chance Gio Ponti could wind up running on the dirt in the Classis.

Clement does seem likely to stick with the Mile, saying after the race on Saturday, “Most probably the Mile, but it will be up to my owner, Mr. Shane Ryan. Let’s enjoy this; this is wonderful. And let’s enjoy Gio Ponti. He’s a wonderful horse.”

Video Replay of 2011 Shadwell Turf Mile

Belmont Park Pick 6 Carryover for Thursday
We have gone two days without anyone solving the Pick 6 at Belmont Park, and we have a $102.902 carryover going into Thursday’s card.

Throwing a monkey wrench into our handicapping is the forecast, which calls for a 50-60% chance of rain from Tuesday night right through Friday morning.

Four of the six races in the Pick 6 sequence are scheduled for the turf, which was labeled firm for Monday’s card.

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