Clement Makes Plans for Turf Stars

Waratah Thoroughbreds’ Miss World, winner of last fall’s Grade 1 Garden City at Belmont Park worked an easy three furlongs in 38.10 over the main track Friday morning.  It was the Bernstein filly’s first timed work since a fifth-place finish in the Grade 3 Beaugay over the Belmont turf course on May 1, her first start of the year.

“She’s doing well, and I need to find a race for her,” said trainer Christophe Clement. 

Clement also reported that Winchester and Gio Ponti, the 1-2 finishers in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Handicap on the Belmont Stakes undercard, were both in fine shape the week following the race.

“They both came back in good order,” said Clement.  “Gio Ponti will point toward the Man o’War on July 10 [Grade 1, 1 3/8 miles] and I’m not sure yet about Winchester.  I will speak to the owner, Mr. Firestone, and then we’ll make a decision.”

Castleton Lyons’ reigning turf champion and older male Gio Ponti is still looking for his first win of 2010, having finished second in the Tampa Bay Stakes and fourth in the $10 million Dubai World Cup earlier in the year.  The 5-year-old son of Tale of the Cat won last year’s Man o’War, one of four consecutive Grade 1 victories in 2009.