Constitution’s Neat notched his third graded stakes score and second in row with a determined victory in the $500,000 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (G2) at Saratoga on Friday, Aug. 2.
Owned by Red, White, and Blue Racing, Neat settled just off the inside in mid-pack early in the one-mile turf fixture. Patiently handled down the backstretch by jockey Junior Alvarado, Neat angled five wide into the upper stretch. With a resolute closing kick in the lane, Neat got up in the final strides to win by a neck in 1:36.38.
“When I turned for home, I tipped him out and he was so game. He kept fighting and grinding and kept going after the horse in front,” Alvarado said. “I love this horse. He is my kind of horse. You can feel he has the fire to win.”
Bred in Kentucky by Hidden Brook Farm and Spruce Lane Farm, Neat was a $200,000 graduate of the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. He has now amassed earnings of $765,630 and is a six-time winner from nine lifetime starts. Neat is produced from the unraced More Than Ready mare Orabella, who is also the dam of graded stakes-placed Louder Than Bombs.
Winner of the Manila Stakes (G3) during the Belmont at the Big A Meet in his previous start, Neat also annexed the Transylvania Stakes (G3) at Keeneland in April and the Texas Turf Mile Stakes at Sam Houston in his seasonal debut in January for trainer Rob Atras.
“It means a lot here at Saratoga,” Atras said of Neat’s Hall of Fame Stakes score. “All the owners came out. He’s a nice colt and he’s won multiple stakes, but this is the top one. Being here at Saratoga and winning here means a lot.”
