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Game on Dude tops San Antonio Following an outstanding season that included victories in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap and Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes, Game on Dude will open his 2012 campaign in Sunday's $200,000 San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita. The classy gelding looms as an overwhelming favorite among seven rivals in the 1 1/8-mile event. Trained by Bob Baffert, Game on Dude had the opportunity to stake a major claim for Horse of the Year honors with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic and recorded an excellent performance in the 1 1/4-mile event at Churchill Downs, repulsing all challenges on the front end before giving way late to the winning Drosselmeyer. However, the runner-up effort left him out in the cold for the Eclipse Awards as the five-year-old finished second in the voting for champion older male to Acclamation. The son of Awesome Again will look to make amends in 2012. He is three for three over over the dirt track in Arcadia, California, and will have this year's Breeders' Cup Classic in his backyard at Santa Anita. Chantal Sutherland returns to the saddle Sunday and Game on Dude will be using the Grade 2 San Antonio as a prep for either a title defense in the March 3 Big 'Cap or a trip to the Middle East for the $10 million Dubai World Cup on March 31. Uh Oh Bango and Tres Borrachos, the respective one-two finishers from the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes on January 7, will both be back for the San Antonio. Uh Oh Bango scored a minor upset when posting a 1 3/4-length score in the 1 1/16-mile event, registering a career-best 104 BRIS Speed rating in the process, and brings a commendable 4-1-1-2 mark over the track into the San Antonio. Mike Smith rides for Kory Owens. Tres Borrachos captured the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap last summer and finished third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile when making his penultimate start in 2011. Conditioner by Marty Jones, the seven-year-old gelding will break from the rail with Rafael Bejarano. Victory Pete, Ashtar, El Gato Malo and Skipshot complete the field.
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