Bob Baffert continued on his roll at the Hollywood Park meet with a thrilling 1-2 finish in the $500,000 Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) on July 9. In a thee horse photo, First Dude edged Game On Dude by a nose with even-money favorite Twirling Candy a neck back in third.

The victory was the third in Hollywood Park’s signature race for Baffert, who previous wins came  with Real Quiet (1999) and Congaree (2003). Baffert also became the first trainer to achieve the Gold Cup exacta since the late Bobby Frankel did it in 2001.

Owned by breeder Don Dizney, First Dude, 4, was taken off the pace set by his stablemate. And for most of the stretch run, it looked like Game On Dude, who had set the pace the entire way, was going to hang on for the win. He kept a determined Twirling Candy at bay while down on the inside, but First Dude rolled up on the outside to win in the very last stride. The winner completed the 1 1/4- miles over Cushion Track in 2:01.57.

By virtue of the thrilling victory, First Dude earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) Nov. 5 at Churchill Downs as the Gold Cup was a BC “Win and You’re In’’ challenge race.

Winning for the fourth time in 17 starts, the Florida bred earned his first Grade 1 victory and is three for four since joining Baffert's barn. He has hit the board five times before in Grade 1 races, including thirds in the Blue Grass, Belmont, Haskell Invitational and Travers and a second in the Preakness.

First Dude raised his earnings to $1,442,140 after the $450,000 payday.

“In the morning they’ve been finishing together and they both ran a great race today,’’ said Baffert, who leads the Hollywood meet in both wins (34) and stakes victories (seven). “First Dude is just a big old horse and you’ve just got to let him settle. You just have to ride him with a lot of confidence and that’s what Martin (Garcia) did.

“When they hit the wire, I knew I’d won it. I just didn’t know which one. I was hoping for a dead heat. That would have been really cool. They both could have gotten a “Win and You’re In’’ and really bust out the Breeders’ Cup. I didn’t know what I was going to do with him, but now I can take him to Del Mar and run him in the ($1 million) Pacific Classic (Aug. 28).

“I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Chantal (Sutherland,rider of Game On Dude). She rode a great race. She really picked that horse up and carried him and got a second wind. He was on the lead and that's the way he wants to run.’’