As frustrating as Red Zone Runner’s last-place finish was in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in his last start – for a variety of reasons – trainer Hugo Padilla remains convinced that the son of Practical Joke will eventually be a graded stakes winner.

For now, though, the 48-year-old Padilla is focused on getting Red Zone Runner renewed confidence, which he will try to do in Sunday’s $100,000 Long Branch Stakes for 3-year-olds at Monmouth Park.

His hope is that the Long Branch will serve as a springboard to a future graded stakes try for the colt. Padilla, who started training on his own in 2023, has yet to win a graded stakes race.

“The Wood was one of those races you just have to throw out,” said the Parx-based Padilla. “A lot of bad things happened to him that race and it started at the break. I never thought the horse outside of him would try to get the lead and they started bumping and kept bumping all the way into the turn – bumping, bumping, bumping. My horse forgot about what he was doing and was more concerned with the horse outside of him. Everything that could go wrong for him that day did go wrong.

“We entered this race at Monmouth Park because I was looking for a race where he can pick his head up and gain some confidence back so we can get him back to having success. The hope and the plan is get Red Zone Runner going forward again starting with this race. With a little more maturity I think he will be a graded stakes winner.”

A field of six is entered for the mile and 70-yard feature, with Bricklin, fourth in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby in his last start, looming as the horse to beat. Trainer Chad Brown is also shipping in Hedge Ratio from New York for the race, with the Klaravich Stables runner coming off a sharp win in a $100,000 optional claimer at Aqueduct in his last start.

Padilla has tried horses in three graded stakes during his brief career, with Lonesome Boy finishing fourth in the Wood Memorial in 2024 and then ninth in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby later that year.

Lonesome Boy was also fourth in the 2024 Long Branch Stakes.

“It’s going to happen,” he said of a graded stakes win. “I think it will be with Red Zone Runner, too.”

Padilla, who hails from Jalisco, Mexico, is in a bit of family arms race to get that graded stakes win. His brothers, Ernesto Padilla-Preciado and Esteban Padilla, are also trainers and neither has won a graded stakes yet. His uncle is veteran Parx trainer Guadalupe Preciado, who has notched more than 2,200 career wins.

Padilla took over the training responsibilities for Red Zone Runner and owner Tom Coulter from Eric McClellan in January. The colt’s first start for Padilla was a 15½-length romp in the City of Brotherly Love Stakes at Parx, a performance that validated his ability for Padilla. Overall, the Coulter homebred has two wins, a second and two thirds in six career starts, including third-place finishes in the Heft Stakes at Laurel and the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes at 2.

His best efforts, though, have come on three sloppy tracks.

“If it rains for this race that would be great for him. But he is also a very solid horse on a fast track,” said Padilla.

Padilla, coming off a career year in 2025 with personal bests in wins (30) and earnings, says he will wait to see how Red Zone Runner fares Sunday before plotting a future schedule. This will be the trainer’s sixth career starter at Monmouth Park. He has yet to win at the Jersey Shore track.

“Hopefully we’ll get him back to where he was two starts ago and then we can start thinking bigger things,” said Padilla, who has 90 career wins.

The eight-race Mother’s Day card on Sunday will have several promotional offerings, including an old Haskell hat giveaway, free carnations to the first 1,000 ladies in attendance, free admission for all ladies and a drawing for a pair of Tim McGraw concert tickets at PNC on July 10.

Also designated as a Family Fun Day, there will be free clowns, face painters, a bounce house and pony rides from noon to 4 p.m. for children.

First race post time is 12:50 p.m.

Parking is free throughout the meet.