Trainer Rob Atras went from never hitting the board with a runner at Keeneland to winning his first graded stakes at the Lexington oval when Neat captured the April 5 $400,000 Transylvania Stakes (G3T).
And Neat did it against a top-quality field of turf 3-year-olds, many of whom will be resurfacing in next month’s American Turf Stakes (G2T) on Derby Day.
“He’s a horse that’s getting better, and he raced against some very tough horses in here and that’s what I think is most impressive,” Atras said.
Neat has been nearly flawless on the turf, barring an 11th-place finish in his 2-year-old debut at Kentucky Downs. The son of Constitution was exiting an eye-catching 5 1/2 length in the Jan. 27 Texas Turf Mile Stakes leading into his first graded stakes test.
The first half-mile of the Transylvania was anything but reassuring for Atras. Neat was fighting hard against jockey Reylu Gutierrez from the inside fence, straining to press early race leaders Oscar’s World and Musical Act through opening fractions of :23.98 and :48.78. Down the backstretch, however, Gutierrez had managed to settle the eager colt and tuck back into fifth position, which Atras felt made the difference between winning and losing the race.
“After the developments in the first turn I was wondering if we were going to have any horse left but Reylu (Gutierrez) did a great job of settling him down,” Atras said. “Obviously he felt like he had a lot of horse down the backside. He had a lot of confidence and that was key. And then (Neat) came up the inside; I think it takes a very good horse to do that.”
Gutierrez and Neat threaded their way between horses down the lane before gunning through a narrow seam along the rail. The gutsy move resulted in a nose win, covering the1 1/16 miles on a “good” turf course in 1:44.93.
Neat was bred by Hidden Brook Farm in partnership with Spruce Lane Farm out of the More Than Ready mare Orabella. He was foaled and raised at the historic Hidden Brook nursery in Paris, Kentucky before going through the ring with Hidden Brook at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale. He was purchased by Andrew N. Warren for $200,000 making him Constitution’s 4th-highest-priced weanling of the year.
The budding Red, White, and Blue Racing partnership later acquired Neat for $200,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Randy Gullat, the founder of the successful Twin Creeks Racing Stables, created the new partnership.
Gullat indicated Neat and the silks of Red, White, and Blue Racing would fly next in the American Turf.
-edited from www.bloodhorse.com
