NEWS
Get Serious holds off Nownownow in Red Bank
Posted: Sunday, September 05, 2010 8:08 PM
GET SERIOUS (inside) DEFEATS NOWNOWNOW IN RED BANK
Bill Denver/Equi-Photo
To view the Red Bank Stakes, click here.
by Patrick Reed
Ultra-consistent Monmouth Park mainstay Get Serious overcame a troubled start to capture his third Grade 3 victory at the Oceanport, New Jersey, track’s summer meet with a neck win over fast-closing Nownownow in the $197,500 Red Bank Stakes (G3) on Sunday.
Ridden by regular jockey Pablo Fragoso, 3-to-5 favorite Get Serious scored a repeat win in the Red Bank and improved his career record at Monmouth to 12 wins from 18 starts with ten wins from 13 starts on the Monmouth turf. The six-year-old City Zip gelding also surpassed the $1-million career earnings plateau with the Red Bank’s $120,000 winner’s share.
Get Serious stumbled out of the gate and conceded his usual front-running position to At the Disco, who led the six-horse field through a swift opening half-mile in :45.10.
Stalking from second through the backstretch, Get Serious angled to the outside of At the Disco on the far turn and jetted past that foe in early stretch.
Under strong urging by Fragoso, Get Serious held off a resolute challenge from 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Nownownow in the final strides. Get Serious covered one mile in a stakes-record time of 1:32.37 on firm turf, about a second off the one-mile world record of 1:31.23 set by Mandurah at Monmouth on June 6.
“He stumbled pretty badly, which I think cost him getting to the lead, and he overcame a lot,” said John Forbes, who trains Get Serious for James Dinan, Jacques Moore, and Phantom House Farm. “He didn’t really have the perfect scenario, but still overcame it.
“If he comes out of this race as good as he’s been coming out of his races, we can’t rule out Churchill Downs [for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) on November 6].”
Nownownow was 4¼ lengths clear of third-place finisher Boots Ahead.
Get Serious completed a successful 2010 Monmouth campaign with four wins in five starts, including wins in the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Stakes (G3) on June 12 and the 1 1/16-mile Oceanport Stakes (G3) on August 1. He also finished fifth to Chinchon (Ire) in the 1 3/8-mile Betfair TVG United Nations Stakes (G1) on July 3 after setting a fast early pace.
Overall, Get Serious improved his career record to 13 wins in 30 starts and $1,000,691 in earnings. He is out of the winning Java Gold mare Java Gal, who is a half sister to German champion, Grade 1 winner, and sire Allez Milord.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Patrick Reed is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
