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 Storm Cat (February 27, 1983 – April 24, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in North America at the time. He was the leading sire in North America in 1999 ...

, out of the stakes-placed

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown. With each successive ...

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 Christophe Clement (born November 1, 1965 in Paris, France) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer in the United States who won the 2014 Belmont Stakes with Tonalist. Racing background Clement initially acquired his training skills from his father ...

Racing career

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 was entered in the

Bourbon Stakes The Bourbon Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. History The event was ...

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 The Santa Anita Mathis Mile Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of one mile on the turf held annually in late December Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently offers ...

at Santa Anita. He was also runner up in the G2

Del Mar Derby The Caesars Sportsbook Del Mar Derby is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of September at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. A Grade II race open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on turf over ...

at Del Mar and the G2

Jamaica Handicap The Caesars Belmont Derby is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred race horse run over a distance of miles on the turf at Belmont Park in July. The purse for the event is US$1,000,000. The event is the first of three of ...

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 The Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manh ...

Man o' War Stakes The Man o' War Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and older. It is run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on turf and is scheduled annually for early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New Yo ...

, and

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of ...

, making him one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Turf. After an upset 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 Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) 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, ...

. 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 The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

. 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. In 2010, Gio Ponti first raced at Belmont Park, where he was second in the

, and first in the

Man O' War Stakes The Man o' War Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four-years-old and older. It is run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on turf and is scheduled annually for early May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New Yo ...

. He then ran in the

but lost to

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

. At

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for i ...

in Lexington, Kentucky, under jockey Ramon Dominguez he won the

Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes The Coolmore Stud, Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three year olds and older over a distance of one mile on the Grass, turf held annually in October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexing ...

, earning a spot in the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

with a "Win and You're In" berth. In the 2010

Breeders' Cup Mile The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's incepti ...

, Gio Ponti ran second to the future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame mare

Goldikova Goldikova (15 March 2005 – 5 January 2021) was a champion French Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Mile three times and was the 2010 European Horse of the Year. She was based in France, although she also raced in the United St ...

. 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.

Pedigree

Race record

External links

Gio Ponti's pedigree and partial racing stats

References

{{reflist 2005 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 2-g