Group 1 winner Gio Ponti was missing from the stallion parades when Arrowfield Stud showcased its 2013 roster last week.

Gio Ponti (USA) arrived for a first southern book last year amid a blaze of publicity, however, he received only minimal support at $22,000 (inc gst).  Arrowfield replaced him with Animal Kingdom (USA) who will cover at a $38,500 (inc gst) fee.

Gio Ponti stands at Castleton Lyons Stud in Kentucky and manager Stuart Fitzgibbon stated the obvious when queried by Bloodhorse earlier this week.   “It just made more sense to keep him home this season,” he said.  “He has been very popular in his first two years here.”

Castleton Lyons has adopted a Plan B by making the son of Tale of the Cat available to southern hemisphere time.  “It’s a pretty small market,” Fitzgibbon admitted.  “But it fills a gap.”

A southern serve to the Eclipse award winner will cost US$10,000.