Well . . .

I think he may be,

but I hope I'm wrong. :D

I'm not saying he's overrated, but just look at all these horses he's lost to and the ones he'll probably lose to on Saturday.

Gio may not be a monster, but he has a legitimate excuse for every one of his narrow defeats. The only way he loses again is if he has more bad luck.

I strongly disagree.

he obviously got his heart broken in the classic, he'll never be the same again...


:D

Who's beating him and if you say Grand Couturier I'm leaving again.

I like Interpation he is primed for a big one

First off Im not sure he is going to get beat, I think he is the most likely winner and he is not one of these favorites I am rushing to try to beat in this spot. I was arguing the point about the excuses, he is turning into one of these horses who always needs an excuse, like hes making his own trouble at this point.

If I do bet on Saturday I could see a few horses running bang up races and beating him. Strike a Deals comeback was huge, he had every right to bounce a bit last time, now he comes back in this spot where there is only 1 other horse with any type of speed, and that pig just ran for a tag 2 back at Deleware, if JV is smart he sits second and cuts him loose at the top of the stretch, maybe he is good enough? Expansion came around a lot at the end of the last year and was hyped a few times in Stakes races earlier this year, he bombed in them, but his last was strong he showed that big kick. If he runs back to his last and Gio Ponti is not the same horse then Expansion can win.

Back to Gio Ponti and my response to Brian, what was his excuse in the Turf Classic? The distance? I still dont think Interpatation should be running him down late.....

A lot of if's. Strike A Deal's comeback was okay, but he was lone speed and Goldberg was winning EVERYTHING then. He has come back to earth since then. That said, he could be second, but Gio Ponti at even 90% seems pretty tough.

The Turf Classic was run in an absolute bog. With the course like that, they probably ran 1 3/4's. He had some traffic last time. He seems like a horse that likes to make a sweeping move like he did in his wins last year.

I agree, I wouldn't bet Strike a Deal with stolen money. That Pimlico win was incredibly circumstantial and included basically everything you said.

I bet Expansion in the Manhattan and Castellano clearly did what Chad Brown asked, which was to keep him out of trouble. Of course, in doing so he probably compromised his chances to win as he was parked wide the entire way. Can he beat Gio Ponti in here? It's plausible with a very sweet trip but GP at 80% of the horse he was in this race last year wins for fun.

NT

I never said I was betting anyone at all.

4th (2:36)

7 Furlongs | Open | 3 Year Olds And Up Allowance | Purse: $52,000


Prg. # PP Horse Jockey Trainer Wt. Claim $ Equip. Med. ML
1 1 Tahitian Warrior Velasquez C bin Suroor Saeed 116 L 3-5
2 2 Rein King Maragh R Terranova, II John P 116 L 15-1
3 3 Kid Tornado Luzzi M J Violette, Jr. R A 120 L 10-1
4 4 Mad for Smarty Castellano J J Jerkens H Allen 119 L 6-1
5 5 Global Force Dominguez R A Albertrani Thomas 116 L 8-1
6 6 Two Brash Lezcano J Kimmel John C 120 L 10-1
7 7 Graysonia Velazquez J R Ice Tim A 119 L 8-1


Kind of excited about this race on the Man O War card....
I dont think Tahitian Warrior is much, I dont like anything that ran behind him in his debut and if he faced Trappe Shot 10 times, I think he would get beat 10 times. Im looking forward to betting against him.

Let me guess...Global Force?

Of course, especially at that price...
Rein King, maybe?

Interpatation went 26-54-1:22 in that race, no wonder he still had some run left. But that still is no excuse for Gio Ponti to have lost.

I know, but the point is GP is a multiple champion and like you said, no reasson to get turned back by that PLUG.

Agreed.

But there is still a point that if he had a clean trip last time, he would have ran off the screen. Now he gets an easier field with Pinckney Hill, Winchester, Take The Points, Court Vision, and Just as Well leaving.

Im not saying that he is the biggest lock of the century, nor will I be playing him at 1-2. But there is no other MAJOR competition in the race, unlike 5 of his last 6 starts.

sigh

What does sigh mean?

It means the kid should probably be more concerned with his golf game or more importantly picking up easy girls as opposed to giving analysis on why a 1-5 shot willmost likely romp this weekend.