Game On Dude eyes repeat in Pacific Classic
DEL MAR, Calif. – Game On Dude is likely to be part of a crowded field when he attempts to win the $1 million Pacific Classic for the second consecutive year Aug. 24.
On Thursday, Game On Dude worked five furlongs in 1:01.40, galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.60, according to track clockers. Game On Dude worked alone under jockey Martin Garcia. Trainer Bob Baffert timed Game On Dude galloping out in 1:14.
A 7-year-old gelding, Game On Dude finished fourth behind Majestic Harbor in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita on June 28, his most recent start.
Majestic Harbor is a leading contender for the Pacific Classic, along with Shared Belief, the champion 2-year-old male of 2013 who won his 2014 stakes debut July 5 in the Los Alamitos Derby. The Pacific Classic could be Shared Belief’s first stakes appearance against older horses and his first start over 1 1/4 miles.
Other candidates are Cat O’Mountain, Clubhouse Ride, Frac Daddy, Footbridge, Imperative, Irish Surf, Sky Kingdom, Toast of New York, and You Know I Know.
Cat O’Mountain has not started since finishing third in the Dubai World Cup in March. He is trained by Charlie Appleby in England. Toast of New York, who won the UAE Derby in Dubai in March, was sixth July 5 in the Belmont Derby.