Terry Lanni has been a horse owner for nearly five decades, won a
Breeders' Cup race with Silic in 1999 and has trophies several other
major stakes.
It hardly prepared him for the scene after Game On Dude won the Santa
Anita Handicap in a 14-1 upset last Saturday. Game On Dude prevailed by a
nose but was the subject of a 12-minute inquiry regarding a bumping
incident in early stretch. Eventually, the stewards did not change the
order of finish, and Lanni and partners Ernie Moody and Bernie Schiappa
lined up for a photo finish, having already positioned themselves in and
around the winner's circle.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to go down there," Lanni said of the winner's
circle. "The 10- to 12-minute wait seemed more like 10 to 12 days. It
could have gone either way."
Lanni said that Game On Dude provided him and Schiappa with their 10th
Grade 1 win in partnership, along with four Grade 2 wins and four Grade 3
wins. They will be after another win when Awesome Patriot starts in the
$250,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday.
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