A 'Neat' Finish to Saratoga's Hall of Fame Stakes

Trainer Rob Atras might be the ultimate New York Yankees fan. Rarely seen at the racetrack without his ubiquitous Yankees cap, Atras went to the bullpen during the Yankees recent slump and donned a new TravisMathew cap without a baseball affiliation. All of a sudden, the Yankees won 5 straight games. "But my horses started losing," Atras said. So, for the Aug. 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2T), Atras had to choose between helping the Yankees or Neat, his starter in the $500,000 turf stakes for 3-year-olds. He decided not to jinx the Yankees and wore the TravisMathew cap. Fortunately, Atras was sending his equine version of Aaron Judge to the plate and Red White and Blue Racing's Neat once again hit it out of the park, closing from sixth in a field of eight to take the Hall of Fame by a neck in a tight three-horse battle to the wire at Saratoga Race Course. "We're here at Saratoga and all the owners came out," Atras said. "He's a nice colt and has won multiple stakes but this is the top one. Winning at Saratoga means a lot." The victory in the mile test was the sixth in nine career starts for the son of Constitution who added grade 2 laurels to a résumé that already included a pair of grade 3 wins, topped by a victory in the June 29 Manila Stakes (G3T) in his last start. "He doesn't have 100 (Beyer Speed Figures) but he shows up every time," Atras said. "I think he's improving. I think mentally he's getting better. He seems more dialed in every race and runs more professionally." Neat typically races close to the pace but he did not break quickly and jockey Junior Alvarado decided to bide his time as they were sixth after a half-mile in :49.38 on firm turf. "Definitely they were farther back than expected but he and Junior had a plan. Junior said he didn't break real sharp but he was comfortable and felt like he had a lot of horse under him," Atras said. "He let him chill and then what a nice kick." Longshot Barksdale set the early pace in the Hall of Fame with 2-1 favorite Army Officer chasing in second. But despite moderate fractions, they dropped back in the stretch and finished eighth and seventh, respectively. Up front, HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud's Lagynos forged to the front in midstretch only to be challenged by the filly Buttercream Babe, who was closing four wide, and Neat, who was charging outside of her. The three hit the wire together with Neat prevailing by a neck over Lagynos, a son of Kantharos trained by Steve Asmussen. Buttercream Babe, a daughter of Twirling Candy trained by Mike Maker, was another neck back in third. "You love that kind of fight," Atras said. Neat ($9), the 7-2 second choice, was timed in 1:36.38. "I love this horse," Alvarado said. "He is my kind of horse. You can feel he has the fire to win." Bred by Hidden Brook Farm and Spruce Lane Farm, Neat is a half brother to the stakes-winning Louder Than Bombs and the fifth of seven foals from the More Than Ready mare Orabella and one of her four winners. She also has a yearling Medaglia d'Oro filly. Neat, who has earned $765,630, was bought for $200,000 from the Lisa and Tim Turney consignment at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.