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Fort Larned took home the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic with a tremendous performance, leading the richest horse race in North America from gate to finish. The $5 million race thrilled down the home stretch as Mucho Macho Man pushed Fort Larned and the two dueled, but Fort Larned had jus enough left in the tank to win.
That Fort Larned had anything left to hold off Mucho Macho Man is really impressive. He got off so quick and put so much energy into building his lead that you would think his challenger would have the edge at the end of the 1 1/4 mile race, but Fort Larned found something left.
Game On Dude was supposed to be a major challenger, having won 5-of-5 races at Santa Anita Park, but you can see that he got caught up in the middle from the very start and never found room to get free.
That is the opposite of Mucho Macho Man, who was content to be a bit back at the beginning and hang on the outside, giving him a free run the entire way. He proved to be no match for Fort Larned, though, who never had a problem in front to take the race.