During his racing career, Gio Ponti was owned by Castleton Lyons and trained by Christophe Clement.
[2] Named for a well-known Italian artist and architect, Gio Ponti began racing in the silks of Shane Ryan's Castleton Lyons Farm under trainer Christophe Clement and broke his maiden in his first start as a two-year-old at Belmont Park, winning by 2½ lengths.
At age 4, the bay colt won four consecutive Grade One races: the Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap, Manhattan Handicap, Man o' War Stakes, and Arlington Million, making him one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Turf.
[5] In 2010, Gio Ponti first raced at Belmont Park, where he was second in the Manhattan Handicap, and first in the Man O' War Stakes.
At Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, under jockey Ramon Dominguez he won the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes, earning a spot in the Breeders' Cup with a "Win and You're In" berth.