While it’s been nearly two years since Get Serious visited
the winner’s circle, that last picture was taken following his victory in the
Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sept. 5, 2010. On Wednesday, July 4, 2012, Get Serious will
look to defend his title and make it three in a row in the Grade 3 Red Bank.
That 2010 Red Bank win capped a fantastic campaign for Get
Serious, who won three graded events and captured four of five starts that
year.
“As good as 2010 was, 2011 couldn’t have been any worse for
him,” said trainer John Forbes. “He
caught off turf courses and never really seemed to find his footing that
year. Hopefully that’s all behind us.”
From five starts last year, Get Serious’ best finish was a
fourth in the Monmouth Stakes (Grade 3).
This year, the son of City Zip has been out twice, finishing third most
recently in the Monmouth Stakes (Grade 2).
“That may have been the best race of his career,” said
Forbes about his gelding’s last start.
“He finished third, but he fought the whole way. I was real impressed with his effort. I hope it signaled that he’s back.”
A New York-bred, Get Serious has made almost all of his
starts in New Jersey, and hasn’t seen another course other than Monmouth Park
since 2009. From his 36 career outings,
he sports a record of 13-2-3 with earnings of $1,038,091 for owners James M.
Dinan and Phantom House Farm. He won the
2009 Red Bank as the 13-10 favorite and took it in 2010 as the 3-5 odds-on
choice.
“He’s doing as good as ever,” said Forbes, while inspecting
his 8-year-old millionaire gelding.
“He’s the soundest 8-year-old around.”
Seven rivals will take on Get Serious in Wednesday’s Red
Bank, with Queen’splatekitten, from the Todd Pletcher barn, the likely
favorite.