SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Neat continued his winning ways on the turf, and again did so in thrilling fashion, surging late to outfinish Lagynos and Buttercream Babe to become a Grade 2 winner for the first time with a hard-fought neck victory in Friday’s $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes.
The Hall of Fame was Neat’s sixth win in his last seven starts on grass and third in a graded stakes. He registered a three-quarter-length victory in the Grade 3 Manila five weeks earlier at Aqueduct. Early this sprint at Keeneland, he scored a gritty nose decision in the Grade 3 Transylvania.
Jockey Junior Alvarado was aboard Neat for the first time in the Manila and the two again proved a formidable team, although the trip may not have gone quite as he or trainer Rob Atras envisioned.
Neat did not break as alertly as usual and found himself racing closer to the rear of the field than the front during the opening five furlongs of the one-mile Hall of Fame. He had prompted the pace in his two previous stakes wins.
Alvarado angled Neat out five wide to commence his bid into the stretch, and the pair finished strongest of all down the center of the course to ultimately overtake Lagynos in the shadow of the wire.
Lagynos, well placed outside horses in the run down the backstretch, readily gained control from the tiring pacesetter Barksdale approaching the furlong marker. He edged clear but could not last.
Buttercream Babe, the lone filly in the field, saved ground for six furlongs, came out to split rivals with her bid at midstretch but came up just short, finishing a neck further back in third.
Army Officer, a somewhat surprising 2-1 favorite, broke slow, rushed to close contention into the first turn, but had little left upon settling into the stretch and finished seventh in the field of eight 3-year-olds.
Neat, a son of Constitution, is owned by Red White and Blue Racing. He ran the distance over a firm course in 1:36.38 and returned $9.
“He was definitely further back than I thought he might be but he and Junior had a plan,” Atras said with a laugh. “Junior said he didn’t break real sharp but he was comfortable and he felt like he had a lot of horse under him. So he let him chill and he [Neat] had a nice kick. It was really a great ride by Junior. And you have to love horses who fight like that.”
Atras said it meant a lot to him to win a race as prestigious as the Hall of Fame.
“All the owners came out. He’s won multiple stakes, but this is a top one,” said Atras. “He’s a nice colt. He seems to be improving mentally with every start. He seems more dialed in and professional with every race.
“He doesn’t have 100 Beyers or anything, but he just shows up every time. He’s the kind of horse you love, because they win.”
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