ARCADIA, Calif. - What at first appears to be a consolation prize may, depending on the weather, turn out to be a grand experiment for Gio Ponti, who heads the field in the Grade 3, $100,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes for 3-year-olds on Friday's opening-day program at Santa Anita.Gio Ponti was the 3-1 favorite in his last start, the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby, but he had no room down the stretch and wound up seventh in the nine-horse field."He had no luck whatsoever in the Hollywood Derby, like in the Breeders' Cup," trainer Christophe Clement said Monday from Florida.

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