In a battle of the Dudes, First Dude held off stablemate Game On Dude by a nose to win the Grade One Hollywood Gold Cup, giving trainer Bob Baffert a one-two finish.
The victory earned First Dude an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November at Churchill Downs.
“I was hoping for a dead heat, which would have been really cool,” Baffert said.
“I knew I’d won it, I just didn’t know which one.”
Besides a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, First Dude’s $150,000 entry fee and $10,000 travel costs will be paid as part of the Breeders Cup Challenge program.
First Dude was second in last year’s Preakness and third in the Belmont for owner Donald Dizney who also bred the four-year-old bay colt.
It was the trainer’s third career win in the Gold Cup. He trained 2003 winner Congaree and 1999 champion Real Quiet.
Baffert’s success came a day after a funeral mass for his mother in his hometown of Nogales, Arizona. Ellie Baffert died on June 23 after a long fight against cancer. She was 88.
“She loved watching the races,” Baffert said. “She would feel worse for me after a loss. She was a mother until the very end.”
In the Grade Two Swaps, Dreamy Kid beat Coil, denying Baffert a record fifth victory in the race for three-year-olds.
Coil was second most of the way around under Martin Garcia before taking the lead in the stretch.
“Turning for home, I thought he was going to win by a lot, but you just can’t do that on a synthetic (surface),” Baffert said.
Dreamy Kid closed strongly to win in his stakes debut and stop Coil’s three-race winning streak.
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