There will be an embarrassment of riches Saturday at Keeneland, and
that's forgetting for a moment the $4.3 million that Gio Ponti has
amassed. It's more the cumulative sum of all the big-money horses, Gio
Ponti included, who will be making their final starts before the
Breeders' Cup.
The $600,000 Shadwell Turf Mile, the richest race of the 17-day
fall meet, will mark the jumping-off point for Gio Ponti as he makes
his way to Louisville toward the Breeders' Cup. The Shadwell is one of
five FallStars Weekend events, all of them graded, to be run on a
blockbuster 11-race card Saturday. Standouts such as Proviso, already a
three-time Grade 1 winner this year, and 2009 Breeders' Cup winners
Informed Decision and California Flag also will race here Saturday.
For a marquee horse, however, it's hard to top Gio Ponti, a
multiple Eclipse Award honoree who has filled a number of dramatic
roles at the highest levels of American racing for much of his 21-race
career. The 5-year-old Gio Ponti reeled off four straight Grade 1 wins
last year, including the Arlington Million, and subsequently was second
in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic and the 2010 Million.
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