BackTrack: Game On Dude Scores in Charles Town Classic

As the former manager of the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, and several other major league teams, Joe Torre knows plenty about watching and hoping for the best on the baseball field.

He did so again the evening of April 20 at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, but this time the athletes were racehorses. And Torre had the heavy favorite in Game On Dude with a $1 million payday on the line in the $1.5 million Charles Town Classic (G2).

"My heart was pumping," said Torre, who owns Game On Dude with the Lanni Family Trust, Mercedes Stable, and Bernie Schiappa. "It's a helpless feeling to just have to watch. It's like sending Mariano Rivera to the mound; you put your hands in your pocket and hope for the best."

Like Rivera, one of the best relief pitchers ever, Game On Dude nailed down the victory and earned the big check. But this one wasn't as easy as his previous three consecutive victories by more than 15 cumulative lengths.

Game On Dude, the 3-10 favorite in a six-horse field in the 1 1/8-mile race for 4-year-olds and up, had to battle early with Percussion and then hold off stretch challenges from Clubhouse Ride and Ron the Greek. The winning margin was a diminishing half-length.

"He's just a workhorse," jockey Mike Smith said. "He's so talented. He had a bit of trouble handling the surface; he was slipping a bit and had to handle the tight turns, but he's just so good."

Game On Dude, trained by Bob Baffert, broke sharply under Smith from post 2, but Percussion fired out faster from the rail and grabbed the early lead through an opening quarter-mile in :25.96. Game On Dude ranged up outside to make it a twosome through a half-mile in :49.37 as last year's Classic winner, Caixa Eletronica, followed in third.

After six furlongs in 1:13.38, Smith asked Game On Dude to go, and he put away Percussion. But on the last of three turns on the three-quarter-mile track, Clubhouse Ride was progressing well into second, and Ron the Greek began to kick in from farther back along the rail.

Game On Dude struck the front before the top of the stretch through a mile in 1:38.85 and appeared to have the race in the bag. But Clubhouse Ride and Ron the Greek, to his outside and inside, respectively, gave him a late scare.

"It looked like he was struggling a bit," Torre said. "They made him work for it. Mike Smith has such a great relationship with 'Dude.' I think I was more excited than nervous. It was exciting being here. Trust me."

Game On Dude completed the distance in 1:52.27 on a fast track. There was some speculation the fractional times were inaccurate, but they appeared on the official chart. The track was favoring speed all evening and producing fairly quick times.

This year's Charles Town Classic offered the winner $1 million, leaving $500,000 for the remaining finishers. It was the shortest field since the race began in 2009.

Game On Dude, a 6-year-old Kentucky-bred by Awesome Again out of the Devil His Due mare Worldly Pleasure, has now won four in a row dating back to the grade 3 Native Diver Stakes. He also won the grade 2 San Antonio Stakes and the grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap.

Bred by Adena Springs, Game On Dude pushed his career earnings to $4,702,158. It was his second appearance at Charles Town; in 2011 he finished second in the Classic behind Duke of Mischief after winning the Santa Anita Handicap.

The goal this year for the Southern California-based gelding is the same as last year: the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Game On Dude will be looking to make amends; as the favorite in the 2012 Classic, he was steadied out of the gate, didn't make the front, and checked in seventh.

Charles Town officials were hoping Lucy's Bob Boy, the top-rated West Virginia-bred, would try the Classic, but his connections opted for the $51,200 Confucius Say Stakes for state-bred runners earlier on the card. The 4-year-old Flatter  gelding won by five lengths for owner Michael Furr and trainer Sandra Dono.

Lucy's Bob Boy now has 11 wins in 14 starts, all of them at Charles Town. When asked about the decision to pass on the Charles Town Classic, Furr said: "We may entertain it next year if he keeps on running the way he has been."