He wasn't quite as good over it as he is on turf though. Went off favored in the Strub and got beat by some horses that are currently banging around high priced claiming company in California.

The way I see it:

Rachel Alexandra: 4 G1 wins (Female beating males 2x trumps all)
Gio Ponti: 4 G1 wins
Zenyatta: 1 G1 1 win, 1 G2 win

Zenyatta has lots of catching-up to do for mid-August.

zenyatta has to either face rachel or face males and win to get HOY at this point. as for gio ponti, since there are main track alternatives, i don't think he has a shot at HOY. turfers just don't get the respect.

You know how I feel about Gio Ponti but his 4 GI wins have nowhere near the weight that Rachel's do.

If her 2009 campaign were to be over right now the only way GP wins HOTY is if Zenyatta stays in the berry patch division and wins the Distaff and he wins the Classic.

There's not a turf race coming up worth running him in so I'd point him to the Goodwood and if he runs well there then go to the Classic.

NT

Will Gio Ponti try synth? At this stage I would say why not. The current state of the older division is not overwhelming at the moment that it wouldn' take a leap of form for him to be competitive.

Euros they brought over stink. Where's Conduit when you need him.

As of right now, no, Rachel has the edge, but remember Rachel is going to stop before the Breeders' Cup (or at this point, not run) which will produce a yet-to-be-determined reaction from voters. This is all speculating but there are numerous outcomes which can make it interesting.

Regardless, it's cool that Gio Ponti is doing what he's doing while the dirt elders are winning their first G1's in our most prestigious races.

Mineshaft, Point Given, Charismatic, Holy Bull, Criminal Type, Spend a Buck, and John Henry all won HOY without running in the BC and a Smarty Jones would have if not for Ghostzapper's Classic win. It's unfortunate because I agree with what I think is your opinion of Gio Ponti. He's faced and beaten better than she has and in most years, would be a prime candidate. But she's done more than just win races. She's captured the imagination and that's worth a few more wins. It's going to take something really special to overtake her and I don't know that what he'd need is available out there, especially if she were to do something like win the Woodward or the Travers.

IMO, If Zenyatta were to win the Pacific Classic and the BCC nothing Rachel does would matter, as far as horse of the year.

Careful on that limb you just climbed onto.

NT

I thought that was the plan for his other entry:eek:

I realize Im not going out on a limb, but a lot of people around here act like Rachel is HOY already.

I posted prior to The Arlington Million to adjust picks accordingly when the ground was obviously on the slow side, Cima probably needs firmer going to be more effective however that is to take nothing away from Gio Ponti, he was very good today and has run 2 crackers in a row to borrow a Vic Stauffer line.

I'm guessing that if Rachel retired tomorrow, she wins no matter what any of them do. If she were to win the Woodward or Travers, Zenyatta could win the Pacific Classic, go to NY and win the JCGC, win the Distaff and the Classic on the same day and that might get her a couple of votes. This contest is over.

If Jackson is too chicken sh*t too race in the BC, she doesn't deserve HOY.

No need to respond..I know the responses all too well

Oh hush. How about that response?

Dirt Rules

happy?

That's a passive-aggressive bogus response too. But either way, I'm too exhausted from giving away my money today to really argue.

Ok I hate arguing this, because I feel Rachel is better, but I think your wrong.

If Zenyatta wins tomorrrow, wins the Pacific Classic, and The BCC it is all over. If she retires UNDEFEATED and beats OLDER MALES twice it will not matter what Rachel does.

As for her going to The Travers I highly doubt it. She would be far from a lock in that race, Quality Road is really good.

Worst day of my handicapping career out there today. F'n Romancaca wins because of bs configurations, then that cow of a horse Dynaforce goes and wins, and then the diseased cow Stotsfold can't out grind Just as Well for 2nd.....

Grand!

based on zenyatta making only her third start in the eighth month of this year, i don't see them suddenly getting aggressive with her just to try to win hoy. she'll run one or two more, the last being the distaff, and then she'll retire to be a broodmare. any chance of her being HOY went out the window with their contention she should not face males. they raced her as they saw fit, and zenyatta is a lot of fun to watch. but no way she's put together anything close to an HOY campaign at this point. we know what rachel's done, anything zenyatta could do means nothing.

Ever met him?

Who has Gio Ponti beat this year that is so good?

I don't think I said that he's beaten anything that's so good. I said he's beaten better than what Rachel has beaten. Ventura alone, who he beat at a mile at Santa Anita is better than anything Rachel's beaten. Einstein is better than Mine that Bird and Summer Bird.

Agree. Gio Ponti has consistently beaten better horses, and will continue to get ignored by "the public" because hes a turf horse and Rachael is Amercia's horse (and well she should). Both are outstanding horses and we are lucky to have both of them around, and actually run in more than 5-6 races per year.

I thought Gio Ponti was awesome yesterday, running a style of race that probably wasnt his most preferred, most certainly because of the presence of Precious Passion.

Great Arlington Million.

I dont know about that

I'll ask again, who is really good that Gio Ponti has beaten? I think he is a very good horse but you guys are acting like he is beating a stellar bunch of turf horses. He's not. And the Million was hardly great yesterday, that was a poor field compared to most any year with one notable exception.

I guess my standards arent as high as yours. I thought yesterday's field was great. Precious Passion, Gio Ponti, Einstein and Just as Well...all very good animals who almost always run very good races.

If you think that was a poor field, you're going to really love what you will see in next weekend's Sword Dancer!

I'm with you dude -- though I think Romocaca is actually pretty good.

Precious Passion is a hard course only type, Einstien has never been a really good horse, he just stuck around long enough to win weak versions of big races and I wont bother to discuss Just as Well as a really good horse. The Euros were third rate and I said Gio Ponti is a very good horse. Your bar is set low.

I'm not sure what's getting lost in translation here. How am I acting like Gio Ponti is beating stellar fields of really good horses? I don't believe I said that and I know I don't think that. I only said that in comparison to what Rachel's beaten, he's beaten better horses. Maybe you think he's beating "C-list" horses. Probably true but that's higher than "D-list".

Diseased cow is really harsh; and I lost that EB too.

Clement sounds cautious, but it looks like Gio's next few starts could be interesting...

http://www.drf.com/news/article/106261.html

You mean Presently?