April 27 - First Dude

These were painted for Don Dizney, the owner of Double Diamond Farm in Ocala. When I delivered the conformation painting to Don's office in Orland, he loved it and said he'd keep that one at his office and the second one would go to the farm. A couple of months later, I delivered the painting of First Dude winning the Hollywood Gold Cup. Don was funny when the first thing he said was, "I changed my mind. I'm keeping this one." A few months later when I was in Ocala, I swung by Double Diamond Farm's office and there was the conformation painting. I smiled because I knew the "rest of the story".

First Dude was a tough and game colt who hit the board in big races during one of the deepest three year old crops of the 2010s. He was foaled in 2007 and trained by Dale Romans for Donegal Racing, the partnership headed by Jerry Crawford. His sire was Stephen Got Even, a son of A.P. Indy, and his dam was Run Sarah Run, a daughter of Cure the Blues. He was a solid bay colt with a strong front running style.

First Dude came to the 2010 Triple Crown trail as a developing prospect, and he made his name with a runner up finish in the 2010 Preakness Stakes. He set a fast pace at Pimlico and held on bravely to finish second behind Lookin At Lucky, with Jackson Bend in third. Three weeks later he stretched out to a mile and a half in the Belmont Stakes and ran another big race, finishing third behind Drosselmeyer and Fly Down. Hitting the board in two of the three Triple Crown races was a huge accomplishment.

Later in 2010 First Dude picked up his first major win in the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park. He also placed in stakes like the Haskell Invitational and the Brooklyn Handicap, showing he could go with the best older horses in the country. As a four year old in 2011, he won the Pimlico Special, returning to the track where he had nearly pulled off the Preakness upset a year earlier. He retired with 4 wins from 22 starts and earnings of over 1.4 million dollars.

After his racing days, First Dude went to stud at Vinery Stud in Florida, where he became a popular regional sire. He produced several stakes winners and became known for passing on his soundness and his willingness to compete. First Dude is remembered as a true blue collar runner who took on the biggest names of his generation and kept showing up race after race.

Sources:

• First Dude - Wikipedia

• Donegal Racing

• Bloodhorse - First Dude