Game On Dude, with Rafael Bejarano aboard, won Saturday's Grade I $250,000 Awesome Again Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita. (Benoit Photo)
ARCADIA - It was a big day at Santa Anita on Saturday for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Rafael Bejarano, who teamed up to win three of five $250,000 Grade I races.
It also was a good day for the track, which drew a crowd of 17,565 despite warm temperatures.
This is the second year of Santa Anita's autumn meet, which replaced the long-standing Oak Tree meet. Saturday's crowd was larger than any last year.
The big win for the team of Baffert and Bejarano came in the 10th race on the 11-race card, the Awesome Again Stakes, with Game On Dude showing he is on his game.
Game On Dude, a 5-year-old gelding, went off as the 2-1 favorite and didn't disappoint his backers in winning going away by 3 1/4 lengths over Nonios.
Game On Dude, who now is headed for the Breeders' Cup Classic, covered the 1 1/8 miles on dirt in 1:48.98.
Richard's Kid, formerly trained by Baffert and now handled by rival Doug O'Neill, had to struggle for third by a neck.
The string of Grade I races began with the sixth, the renamed Chandelier Stakes. Baffert and Bejarano won that one with Executiveprivilege.
Then came the FrontRunner Stakes, and they won that one with Power Broker in an upset over O'Neill-trained Know More, a distant second.
"I was hoping for this kind of outcome," Baffert said.
No kidding.
"They were all coming into their races really well. I'm glad that Power Broker showed his stuff.
"We still have a ways to go, and as long as they all stay healthy and keep moving forward that's the main goal."
Power Broker was coming off a Del Mar meet in which he finished second, third and a disappointing fourth in three races.
Baffert blamed Del Mar's synthetic track for the poor showing and added the horse recently had a great workout.
The next race for Power Broker, after his impressive victory, will be the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The FrontRunner Stakes, formerly the Norfolk, was renamed after the restaurant atop of the Santa Anita grandstands.
The Chandelier, formerly the Oak Leaf, gets its new name from the legendary bar in the Turf Club.
The Awesome Again, formerly the Goodwood, is named after a horse bred by Santa Anita owner Frank Stronach.
Game On Dude, who finished second in last year's Breeders' Cup Classic when ridden by Chantal Sunderland, is a son of Awesome Again.
All five Grade I races Saturday were part of the Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" series.
The FrontRunner Stakes, a race for 2-year-olds, also was part of a new "Road to the Kentucky Derby" qualifying point system. It was one of the first two qualifiers.
The other was run earlier Saturday in Newmarket, England.
With his victory at Santa Anita, Power Broker earned 10 points toward qualifying for next year's Kentucky Derby.
Baffert is no fan of the new format.
"It's too early," he said. "I like the Breeders' Cup `Win and You're In.' They should have it where you win a big prep race and you're in the Kentucky Derby."
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