Veteran gelding Game On Dude proved his critics wrong with a history-making third victory in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 8 at Santa Anita Park.
Under Mike Smith, Game On Dude was on the lead from the start of the 1 1/4-mile race and carried too much fight for the 2013 sophomore male champion Will Take Charge through the stretch drive to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
It was eight lengths back to third-place finisher Blingo as Breeders Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man faded to finish out of the money.
Adding more to his achievement Game On Dude’s time of 1:58.17 broke the stakes record of 1:58.60 established by the champion Affirmed in 1979 but was off the track mark of 1:57.80 set by Spectacular Bid in 1980.
Seven-year-old Game On Dude came into the race tied with John Henry, Milwaukee Brew, and Lava Man as the only two-time winners of the Big 'Cap.
Trainer Bob Baffert was left in awe of Game On Dude after the gelding gave him his fifth win in the Santa Anita Handicap.
"I was in awe," Baffert said. "I just sat there and listened to the crowd cheering and watching 'The Dude' do his thing. He was smoking."
"When he gets in that groove, nobody can beat him.”
“To me, it's an emotional win for the horse," the Hall of Fame trainer added.
"It kills me when they knock him, but we came in here quiet and that's the way I like to come in."
Mike Smith said he knew warming him up before the race that Game On Dude was going to be tough to beat.
"He was on his toes today, he was on fire. I knew they would have to better than him today to beat him.
“Like I've said before, when he shows up he can run with anybody in the world. He may throw a dud every now and then but then he makes up for it."
Game On Dude atoned for a fifth in the San Antonio Stakes that opened his 2014 season in February and also avenged his ninth place finish as the favorite behind Mucho Macho Man in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic .
Winning for the 16th time from a 31-race career, Game On Dude has taken his career earnings to $6,163,893 with his eighth G1 success.
Mucho Macho Man, whose only start since the Breeders' Cup produced a 14-length verdict in the Sunshine Millions Classic at Gulfstream Park Jan. 18, was made the favorite over last year's 3-year-old champion and multiple G1 winner Will Take Charge.
Gary Stevens said Mucho Macho Man was in good shape heading into the turn but he realized soon after that this wasn't going to be his day.
"The race really started at the half-mile pole when I couldn't go. I was basically empty at the three-eighths pole.
"That's a bad feeling in a race like this,” Stevens said.
