Hard Enough has happy homecoming in Red Bank
A return to Monmouth Park was all Hard Enough needed to regain his best form.
After finishing 12th and pulling up before the finish line in two of his first three starts of the season in Florida, Hard Enough came back to Monmouth, where he won a pair of turf stakes as a 3-year-old of 2013. Saturday, under Eddie Castro, Hard Enough outdueled 5-2 favorite Slim Shadey in the stretch and then held off 3-1 second choice Winning Cause by three-quarters of a length in the Grade 3, $100,000 Red Bank Stakes.
The win by Hard Enough ($20.40) temporarily foiled a bid by jockey Paco Lopez, the rider of Slim Shadey, for a track-record seventh win on the program. Slim Shadey, a California shipper, faded to third, 1 3/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Lopez got his record-breaking seventh win of the day in the 12th race aboard 8-5 favorite Tycoon Cat.
The one-mile Red Bank, completed in 1:36.68 over a turf course rated good, was the first step in trainer Bobby Dibona’s plan to win the Grade 1 United Nations this summer.
“I’d like to win the United Nations with him,” Dibona said. “I would like him to keep going a little longer.”
Dibona mentioned the Grade 2 Monmouth Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on June 8 as the next logical spot before the 1 3/8-mile U.N. on July 6.
The trainer credited Castro with a savvy ride.
“I spoke with Eddie before the race and he rode him perfectly,” Dibona said. “I knew there were speed horses in there, so I told him if they go, just get him to relax, and that’s how it worked out. He showed good versatility and what we saw today was what I’ve been teaching him to do.”
Hard Enough, who won the Jersey Derby and Restoration in back-to-back starts at Monmouth last summer, is now 6 for 20 with earnings of $237,050 for Peace Sign Stable.