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Get Serious continues love affair with Monmouth

Get Serious did his Presious Passion imitation (Alyssa Spakowski/Equi-Photo) James Dinan, Jacques Moore and Phantom House Farm's GET SERIOUS (City Zip) did what defending champion and 3-1 favorite Presious Passion (Royal Anthem) was supposed to do in Saturday's $255,000 Monmouth S. (G3) -- sprint to the early lead and never look back. A horse for the course if there ever were one, Get Serious gave Presious Passion a dose of his own medicine, and in the process, extended his record on the Monmouth turf to eight for 10 lifetime. Despite his affinity for the Monmouth course, Get Serious went off as the 7-1 fifth choice in the nine-horse field. The John Forbes charge broke alertly from the rail post, and although Presious Passion had his head in front through an opening quarter in :24 1/5, Get Serious asserted himself and opened up a one-length advantage through a half-mile in :47 3/5. Under good handling by Pablo Fragoso, he increased his margin to 2 1/2 lengths while reaching six furlongs in 1:11 2/5. What at first appeared to be a tactical withdrawal on the part of Presious Passion developed into something entirely different, as he came up empty in his first start back from a disappointing trip to Dubai.

As Presious Passion commenced his retreat, Roman Tiger (Tiger Ridge) improved his position as the longest shot on the board at almost 25-1. He chased Get Serious throughout the stretch, but could not make up enough ground to endanger the front runner. Get Serious had 1 1/4 lengths to spare at the wire, stopping the teletimer in 1:47 for 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf and paying $16, $8.60 and $5.80.

"If Presious Passion sent, we were going to back off," Forbes said. "He (Get Serious) opened up a little bit on the backside and by that time it was probably a little to late to gun Presious Passion.

"We thought if we were going to take on Presious Passion, now was the time.  He had to go to Dubai, and this was his first race back."

"When I got to Get Serious at the eighth-pole, he re-broke as soon as he smelled us," said Joe Bravo, who piloted Roman Tiger. "That horse (Get Serious) is really something."

Roman Tiger finished a clear second by two lengths, and the longshot rewarded his loyalists with $20.20 and $9.60. Dynamoor (Dynaformer) got up for third by a neck over Al Khali (Medaglia d'Oro), and show was good for $5 at 5-1. The exotics totaled $332.60 (exacta), $1,928.20 (trifecta) and $15,980 (1-9-4-7 superfecta). Forgotten Dynasty (Dynaformer), Baletti (Gulch), Presious Passion, Blues Street (Street Cry [Ire]) and Pleasant Strike (Smart Strike) rounded out the order of finish.

Get Serious' scorecard now reads 27-11-2-2, $740,691. Four of his previous five stakes victories have also come at Monmouth. Last year, the chestnut gelding garnered the Red Bank S. (G3); the Elkwood S. and Battlefield S., each in course-record time for a grassy mile; and the off-the-turf Oceanport S. He also captured the 2008 Alysheba S. at Meadowlands, and finished second in the 2008 Mohawk H. at Belmont and the 2007 Long Branch S. on Monmouth's main track.

Bred by Morgan's Ford Farm in New York, Get Serious brought $130,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October yearling. The six-year-old is out of the winning Java Gold mare Java Gal, whose other progeny include the stakes-placed Java Warrior (Cape Town) and an unnamed yearling colt by Rahy. Java Gal is a half-sister to German champion Allez Milord (Tom Rolfe), hero of the 1986 Europa Preis (Ger-G1) and 1987 Oak Tree Invitational (G1).

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