2012 Autumn Championship at Santa Anita: Game On Dude rolls towards the Classic

If you’re looking for a horse that might just be a stone cold lock at the Breeders’ Cup, look no further than Executiveprivilege, the runaway winner of the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes and undefeated through five career starts. Her victory at Santa Anita on Saturday couldn’t not have been any easier as she sprinted to the lead, slowed the field down through a half mile in 48.41 and six furlongs in 1:35.45, and then picked up the pace to pull away from the field for a six and a quarter length winner over runner-up Scarlet Strike.

With this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at the same track and distance a the Chandelier Stakes, Executiveprivilege will be a heavy favorite to extend her winning streak to six races.

Sometimes all it takes is a simple change to bring out the best in a horse. Power Broker raced over a turf or synthetic surface in all three of his previous race but found something extra when stepping on dirt for the first time at Santa Anita on Saturday. After stalking the early leaders of Carving and Know More through the opening six furlongs, Power Broker made a strong move to the lead and won the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes by six and a half lengths over Know More.

Power Broker will have a chance to duplicate his FrontRunner Stakes victory in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile over the same Santa Anita dirt on November 3rd. Trainer Bob Baffert has won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on two occasions: 2002 with Vindication and 2008 with Midshipman.

If there’s one thing we know about the main track at Santa Anita, it’s this: you can’t let a quality horse get an easy lead or else there is almost no chance of running down the leader in the stretch drive. The hard and fast nature of the Santa Anita dirt tends to play well for horses with early speed, a trait that Love and Pride used to her advantage to win the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes (formerly the Lady’s Secret) at Santa Anita Park.

The results of the Saturday’s Zenyatta Stakes are pretty easy to break down: Love and Pride got and easy early lead, put up modest fractions of 23.98, 48.47 and 1:12.58 through six furlongs, and proceeded to pull away from her rivals to win by a comfortable three and a quarter lengths at the wire. She was never seriously challenged inside the final quarter mile and was much better than the top West Coast fillies of Include Me Out, Amani (CHI) and Switch.

Saturday’s Awesome Again Stakes provided little drama as Game On Dude, sent to post as the 3/10 betting favorite, stalked the early speed of Winning Machine, went by the leader willingly on the far turn and was never seriously threatened by any of his rivals in the final quarter mile.

The victory was Game On Dude’s second in a row in the Awesome Again, although the race was called the Goodwood Stakes prior to 2012.

Game On Dude racing early in a perfect stalking position right off of Winning Machine, went by the long shot frontrunner with ease at the top of the stretch and then held off Nonios inside the final furlong to win the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes by three lengths at the wire. Richard’s Kid ran on well to grab the third spot while Rail Trip finished fourth.

The victory in the Aweseom Again is Game On Dude’s second win in a Grade 1 race in 2012 following wins in the G1-Hollywood Gold Cup on July 7th.

Sitting behind what was an inexplicably hot pace in the early stages, favorite Marketing Mix rolled to the lead at the top of the stretch and won the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive by four or five lengths over Nereid. Stormy Lucy finished third in the field of 13.

Thisismystage and Let’s Go Cheyenne broke well from the gate and set extremely fast early fractions, clicking off the opening six furlongs in 23.69, 45.78 and and sprinter-like 1:09.62. By the time the leaders hit the far turn they had nothing left in the tank and were easy prey for the fillies and mares charging home behind them.

In her last start, Love and Pride scored a big upset over Royal Delta and It’s Tricky in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign in a fantastic performance. She backed that up performance with an easy victory in the Grade 1 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita. Setting moderate but honest fractions in the early stages, Love and Pride grabbed the lead right after leaving the gate and was never seriously threatened in the final furlongs.

Up next for Love and Pride is the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic at Santa Anita on November 2nd.

Power Broker, winless in three career starts, swept to the lead at the top of the stretch and pulled away from his rivals to easily win the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita Park. Know More set the early pace and held to finish second. Capo Bastogne finished third.

In addition to being part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” series, the FrontRunner is also a scoring race on the Road to the 2013 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. While it’s unlikely that Power Broker will actually run in the Derby, the points earned in this race could be valuable in the spring.

Santa Anita’s Autumn Championship meeting kicked off on Friday afternoon, but it’s the Saturday card that horse racing fans and handicappers are eagerly anticipating. An 11-race card on Saturday is highlighted by five Grade 1 stakes, including the Awesome Again Stakes, a “Win and You’re In” race for the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Additionally, Santa Anita will offer a pair of Grade 1 stakes for juveniles.

The Awesome Again Stakes is the renamed Goodwood Stakes (the Goodwood was part of the old Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting that is no longer running), a race inaugurated in 1982. This year’s Awesome Again feature two prior winners of the race: favorite Game On Dude and Richard’s Kid. Richard’s Kid won the race the year it was held at Hollywood Park over their synthetic surface.

Santa Anita Park, home to the 2012 (and 2013) Breeders’ Cup, kicks off it’s Autumn Championship meeting with five Grade 1 stakes races on Saturday afternoon. The feature race of the day is the Awesome Again Stakes led by the top contender for this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, Game On Dude.

Let’s take a look at the graded stakes action on tap Saturday at the Great Race Place, Santa Anita Park.