Retirement for Dude Prolific American favourite Game On Dude has been retired. The seven-year-old gelding, trained for the last five years by Bob Baffert, was regarded as one of the best of his generation, winning eight Grade One races in a decorated career. Although the renowned front-runner failed to show his best form at the yearly Breeders' Cup meetings, one of his finest achievements was when he became the first horse to win three renewals of the Santa Anita Handicap in March. The decision to draw stumps was taken after Game On Dude struggled on his last three outings, most recently when he was soundly beaten in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar in August. No plans have yet to be made as to where he will spend his retirement. Baffert told www.bloodhorse.com: " He ran a great race in the Pacific Classic, but it's gotten to the point where there is always going to be some horse who is going to be sacrificed by running with him and forcing him into ridiculous fractions, as was the case at Del Mar. "It's starting to wear on him a little bit to the point where it's not fun for him any more. "We always felt if he couldn't compete at the grade I level and wasn't enjoying what he was doing, it would be time to retire him. "He's become such a big pet around the barn, and watching him get beat like that is just killing us. "It's really tough. I could have freshened him up and run him in the Breeders' Cup, but with all that speed in there, I just didn't want to do that to him, especially at his age. "He probably could have been competitive, but I've always told the partners this day would come and we would do the right thing by retiring him. "We really have no plans (on his future). We'll just listen to options and get together and make a decision. "But, for now, he's just going to hang around the barn for a while. He still gets visitors every day and just to see him there brightens up your day."
