Sutherland makes history in Big Cap

Game On Dude edged Setsuko by a nose Saturday in the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap at Santa Anita, running 1-1/4 miles in 1 minute, 59.47 seconds.

Ridden by Chantal Sutherland and trained by Bob Baffert, Game On Dude paid $31.60 at 14-1 odds.

Sutherland became the first female jockey to win the 74-year-old race. Baffert won last year with Misremembered.

Twirling Candy finished fifth as the 1-2 favorite in the 11-horse field of 4-year-olds and up.

Twirling Candy was running third when he was bumped on both sides. After a 12-minute video review, the stewards decided not to change the order of finish, drawing boos from many in the crowd of 23,304.

Steward Scott Chaney said it was the majority opinion that Game On Dude on the inside was going straight and that Twirling Candy in the middle drifted in and caused contact.

"The inside came out," said Joel Rosario, who rode Twirling Candy, "and the outside kind of stayed with me, so I got bumped and lost control. After that, I didn't have anything."

Twirling Candy's trainer John Sadler said: "Everybody was riding against him, so he got hammered every which way, on every turn. There just wasn't much of a chance."

Victor Espinoza, aboard Setsuko, was especially critical.

"It's the wrong decision," he said. "I think the stewards are blind. How many times do they have to drop me to disqualify the horse? That's insane."

Sutherland said Game On Dude ran "straight as an arrow. It felt like I got bumped from behind."

Baffert had originally named John Velazquez to ride Game On Dude, but he made a late change to Sutherland when it became apparent that Velazquez wouldn't be available. Sutherland, who rides in her native Canada most of the year, had just three wins at Santa Anita before Saturday.

"This is by far the best win in my career," she said.

Baffert saddled three other horses in the race: First Dude was sixth, Tweebster was seventh and Spurrier was eighth.

The victory, worth $450,000, increased Game On Dude's career earnings to $702,650, with four wins in eight starts.

A 69-1 shot, Quindici Man finished third.

In the $300,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile, Fluke beat Caracortado by a head and paid $7.40 to win. Jeranimo was third. In the $250,000 Santa Anita Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, even-money favorite Turbulent Descent won in a stakes record time of 1:41.05 for 1-1/16 miles. Ridden by David Flores, she won by two lengths and paid $4 to win.