One of the biggest bargains in the First Dude arsenal – Neigh Dude – added to his luster with a one-length victory in a $20,800 starter allowance test at Monmouth Park.

    The 5-year-old gelding bred by Porter Racing Stable was a mere $2,000 Timonium October yearling; his score in New Jersey under Paco Lopez raised his record to 7-9-6 in 35 starts, and the check for $12,000 increased his ever-growing earnings to $167,592. And Neigh Dude doesn’t seem to have lost a step – he’s compiled a record of 3-7-2 in his last 13 tries. In the latest, he received an excellent Equibase ‘E’ speed figure of 89.

  In his Monmouth score, Neigh Dude had to steady at the start, then recovered quickly and chased the pace on the inside. He swung out for racing room on the turn, took the lead into the stretch and went on to win by a length in 1:11.15 for the six furlongs.

  At Woodbine, This Dude a Breeze, coming off a second-place finish at Gulfstream, was sent off at 6/5 in a race at seven furlongs over the all-weather track after the race was originally scheduled for 7 1/2 furlongs on the inner turf course. 

    With Rafael Manuel Hernandez aboard, and carrying high-weight of 125 pounds, the 4-year-old gelding went wire-to-wire, putting up fractions of :23.59, :46.61 and 1:10.32 and coming home in 1:23.07 while scoring by six widening lengths. He paid $4.70 and received a speed figure of 83, equaling the best of his career; he’s 2-2-1 in 10 starts. The payoff was $16,860 Canadian, $12,364 U. S., and lifted his earnings to $51,586.