Law Professor victorious in the Excelsior April 1, 2023, at Aqueduct (Chelsea Durand)
NYRA Press Office
OZONE PARK, N.Y.— Trainer Rob Atras has enjoyed a strong start in his first foray at Fair Grounds Race Couse where he has won with 4-of-6 starters to make up for off-the-board efforts last month by Law Professor and Neat in stakes company at the Louisiana oval.
Twin Creeks Racing Stables’ Kentucky homebred Law Professor finished eighth in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial which was contested at 1 1/16-miles over firm Fair Grounds turf.
“He washed out bad in the paddock again,” Atras said of the now 6-year-old
Constitution gelding, who has done much of his best running at Aqueduct where he boasts a record of 4-2-1-1 led by nine-furlong scores over the main track last year in the Queens County and Excelsior.
Law Professor has since returned to New York and worked a half-mile in 49.66 Friday over the Belmont Park dirt training track.
“He seems to do well up here. He worked good but we haven’t really picked out anything for sure for him yet,” Atras said. “We just wanted to get him back up here and breeze him a couple times and go from there.”
Atras said he’s not certain if Law Professor will look to make a title defense in the Listed $150,000 Excelsior on March 30 and will take a patient approach with the talented gelding, who made the grade in December 2021 in an off-the-turf renewal of the Grade 2 Santa Anita Mathis Mile while in the care of trainer Michael McCarthy.
“I’m hoping we can get him back to that level. We’ll see how he handles things,” Atras said. “A guy I used to work for said, ‘time is money – you have to take time to make money,’ and I try to take that approach.”
Law Professor made a winning debut for Atras in the restricted Tapit traveling one mile and 70 yards in September 2022 over the Kentucky Downs turf. He followed one month later with a game second to Life Is Good in a compact renewal of the nine-furlong Grade 1 Woodward contested over a sloppy and sealed main track here.
Red White and Blue Racing’s Neat, a 3-year-old Constitution colt, captured a pair of 1 1/16-mile turf events last year, romping to a 4 1/4-length maiden win over next-out winner St James the Great on October 21 at Laurel Park and following with a professional 3 1/2-length optional-claiming score over next-out winner Card Trick on November 25 at Fair Grounds.
Neat, a $200,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, is a half-brother to multiple graded stakes-placed turfer Louder Than Bombs. He stalked the pace last out in his dirt debut in the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner under Reylu Gutierrez but faded to sixth.
“In hindsight, I maybe should have instructed Reylu to put him a little more forward,” Atras said. “He got a little far back and took dirt and didn’t like that. He made a little middle run. I’m thinking all in all, dirt is not his game. The main thing is he came out of the race good.”
Atras said Neat will point to the $100,000 Bob Bork Texas Turf Mile on January 27 at Sam Houston.
Atras and owner Michael Dubb haltered Play Good Pay Good out of a winning maiden claiming effort on December 14 at Fair Grounds. The now 3-year-old daughter of Congrats made every pole a winning one in the six-furlong main-track sprint and earned a 65 Beyer.
The $250,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale purchase is entered a in a trio of spots at Fair Grounds, including for the main-track only in a Friday starter allowance as well as on Saturday in both a one-mile and 70-yard allowance optional claimer in Race 3 and the $150,000 Silverbulletday at the same distance in Race 10.
Atras said Play Good Pay Good is likely to start in the Saturday allowance.
“I like the filly and hope she’s a good claim, but ideally we’d have her in a starter but we couldn’t get one to go,” Atras said. “We cross-entered in those spots to take a look but I’m pretty sure we’ll be running her in the ‘1X’ going a mile. In a perfect world, I would have sprinted her one more time in a starter. I think she will be able to stretch out eventually, but off a maiden win it’s not easy to stretch out against winners but we’ll take a shot and see how does.”
Play Good Pay Good is out of the winning Victory Gallop mare Racyn With Gracyn, who is a full-sister to stakes winner Jazzy Gallop.
