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Gio Ponti will try to extend
winning streak in Hirsch

Posted: Thursday, October 01, 2009 7:45 PM

GIO PONTI

NYRA photo

by Myra Lewyn

Castleton Lyons’ Gio Ponti, the undisputed leader in the U.S. turf male division, will bid for a fifth consecutive Group 1 win on grass in the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park.

At 1½ miles, the Hirsch will mark Gio Ponti’s first start beyond 1 3/8 miles, but trainer Christophe Clement is confident the late-running Tale of the Cat colt will handle the task.

“He is a horse that can switch on and off,” Clement said.  “As long as [jockey] Ramon [Dominguez] can keep him switched off the first part of the race, he can finish well.”

Gio Ponti’s patented late kick propelled him to each of his four top-level wins this season, beginning with the one-mile Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap (G1) on March 7 at Santa Anita Park. He followed with a pair of Grade 1 wins at Belmont— the 1¼-mile Woodfood Reserve Manhattan Handicap (G1), which he won by 1½ lengths on yielding turf on June 6, and the Man o’ War Stakes (G1), which he won by 1¾ length despite a wide trip throughout on July 11.

“A good horse is a good horse,” Clement said.  “[Gio Ponti] loves Belmont Park and I’ve always thought that he is a better horse in cooler weather.  This is not a handicap, so the weights are the same, which is great.  Now, it’s up to him.” 

In his most recent start, Gio Ponti seized command on the turn and won the 1¼-mile Arlington Million Stakes (G1) by 1¼ lengths on August 8. With that victory, he earned a starting spot in the $3-million Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), at the Hirsch distance, on November 7 at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita Park via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series. He also earned an invitation to the Japan Cup (Jpn-G1) in November.

“He might be, or is, the best horse I have ever trained,” Clement said.  “And I probably enjoy him more now than I would have 15 years ago because I know how difficult it is just to win a [single] Grade 1.  He brings a lot of enjoyment to all of us, to everyone in the barn—grooms, exercise riders, myself, and his owner.”

Gio Ponti now has a Facebook page, where photos and videos of the colt are regularly posted. He has 370 fans as of Thursday afternoon.

Marc Keller’s Grand Couturier romped to a 10¼-length win in last year’s Hirsch and will bid for a repeat victory. The six-year-old Grand Lodge horse was winless in five starts after last year's Hirsch win until posting a two-length tally on yielding turf in the Bowling Green Handicap (G2) on September 13 at Belmont. 

“He’s doing fine,” trainer Bobby Ribaudo said. “He came out of [the Bowling Green] well, but Gio Ponti will be tough. We may get [the softer ground] we like on Saturday, and we’ll take any edge we can get.” 

Chicago-based Telling, who posted a 33-to-1 upset in the 1½-mile Sword Dancer Invitational Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course on August 15, also has a second- and a third-place finish in Grade 3 races in his three starts at the distance.

“He doesn’t have to win again to prove anything to us,” trainer Steve Hobby said of the five-year-old A.P. Indy horse. “The one thing is, Gio Ponti hasn’t been a mile and half yet and my horse loves it.” 

Myra Lewyn is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S.

For Equibase entries of Saturday's Belmont card, click here.