Where Does Gio Ponti Go After Shadwell?

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.