Game On Dude digs deep, takes Native Diver

“I thought Nonios would be the horse to beat in here," trainer Bob Baffert

revealed. "I figured Pedroza would try to get aggressive with him. I saw Pedroza

go over there and I thought he was going to get in 'Dude's psyche a little bit,

maybe try to cut him off or get him off his heels. That's one of the reasons we

put Mike (Smith) on him, because when you're a heavy favorite you can go ahead

and get aggressive on him. Sometimes you have to go for broke. But I think if

Martin had gone on, he could have laid second. But that's when he slowed down a

little bit and Mike went ahead and went for it.

"I saw Nonios making that move on the (final) turn and was coming back on, I

said 'Whoa,' because this track is pretty demanding. But then he cut back in and

he wasn't really tired when he got back."

Game On Dude recorded his first stakes win in the

Grade 3 Lone Star Derby in 2010, but people began to take notice when he

captured the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in the spring of 2011. He went on to

place in the Grade 3 Charles Town Classic and Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap

before a nose second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. Following his

half-length score in the Grade 1 Goodwood, Game On Dude closed out the year with

a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

He opened 2012 with a convincing 5 1/2-length tally in the Grade 2 San

Antonio in early February, but nothing went right for him when shipped overseas

for the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in late March. Game On Dude struggled over the

synthetic Tapeta track and finished 12th, but rebounded on his return to the

states with 7 1/4-length tally in the Grade 2 Californian and a 1 1/4-length

score in the the Hollywood Gold Cup.

Caught in the final yards by Dullahan in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic next

out, Game On Dude cemented Breeders' Cup Classic favoritism with a 3 1/4-length

tour de force in the September 29 Awesome Again (formerly the Goodwood), but in

the Classic itself he failed to make the lead and retreated to seventh, 15

lengths behind Fort Larned. His record now stands at 22-10-5-1, $3,132,158.

"It's just a shame that he ran great races all year long and had a bad trip

in the Breeders' Cup," Baffert added. "But it's a new day today."

Bred in Kentucky by Adena Springs, Game on Dude was produced by the

stakes-winning Worldly Pleasure, a daughter of Devil His Due.

Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com