NEWS
Gio Ponti storms to Manhattan victory
Posted: Saturday, June 06, 2009 7:11 PM
GIO PONTI
Adam Coglianese/NYRA photo
To view the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap, click here.
by Steve Myrick
Castleton Lyons’s Gio Ponti rallied with a furious burst down the stretch outside of the entire field to capture the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park.
The four-year old Tale of the Cat colt raced last in the 12-horse field through a half mile, quickened under jockey Garrett Gomez in the stretch, and nabbed hard-charging Marsh Side in deep stretch for his second career Grade 1 win. Gio Ponti won by 1½ lengths, covering 1¼ miles in 2:02.91 on turf rated as yielding.
“That's what a good horse does, he just dominates. He's a very, very, very nice horse,” said winning trainer Christophe Clement. “They went a little quick, he was way out of it, he was relaxed, and it worked out.”
Gomez had plenty of colt when the closely bunched field spun into the home stretch.
Gomez said he was blocked in Gio Ponti's previous attempt in a ten-furlong race, the Hollywood Derby (G1) on November 30. Gio Ponti finished second, but the race gave Gomez reason to believe he could get the distance in the Manhattan.
“It wasn't a question in my mind,” Gomez said. “He didn't surprise me at all. He just continues to get better.”
Marsh Side raced in second entering the stretch and overtook Cosmonaut in the lane to take the lead until Gio Ponti overtook him by the sixteenth pole.
“He gave me good acceleration, I thought I had it,” said jockey Javier Castellano. “Hopefully, next time.”
Ridden by Jeremy Rose, Better Talk Now turned in another gutsy effort to get third. The ten-year-old Talking Man gelding entered off a sixth-place finish in the Fifth Third Elkhorn Stakes (G2) on April 24 at Keeneland.
“We wanted to see if he could be competitive in these races, and he showed that today,” said trainer Graham Motion.
Bred in Kentucky, Gio Ponti improved to seven wins in 12 careers starts with earnings of $1,245,800.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
To view the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap, click here.
Steve Myrick is a Massachusetts-based THOROUGHBRED TIMES correspondent
