Stacking up excuses can be the most frustrating part of horse racing, and trainer Rob Atras is going through it with Neat. The talented but continually unlucky 5-year-old will ship to Monmouth Park in search of better fortunes in the $100,000 Cliff Hanger Stakes on Saturday. “He’s a quirky horse,” Atras said. “He’s very tough to ride. No fault to anyone who’s struggled to ride him because he’s a tricky horse in the morning. He’s a tricky horse in the races. But when he does put it all together, he seems to be a pretty nice turf stakes miler.” Things were easier in 2024, when Neat won two graded stakes in a smashing 3-year-old campaign. Things became more erratic last year, as he finished strong in several deep fields but faded from view in the Grade 3 Dinner Party and Grade 1 Fourstardave. With chances to win in the Grade 3 Kelso and $100,000 Henry S. Clark, he suffered brutal trips and settled for fourth in both. In his return to Laurel for the 2026 edition of the Clark last month, Atras was hoping for better fortunes, but Neat was squeezed at the start and simply failed to handle the first turn, drifting into oblivion in the field of 11. The trainer was left without answers, but he will stay the course at Monmouth on Saturday, where he will enter Neat in a field of nine at 1 1/16 miles. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “We got him back to Belmont and he’s worked a few times. He’s trained really well,” Atras said. “[Reylu Gutierrez] is riding him, and he’s won on him before, so that gives us some confidence. They’re going to be tough to beat, but I think if we can get back to some of his ‘A’ races, it makes him very competitive.” Cosmic Year, a 4-year-old colt, will make his North American debut for trainer Chad Brown. Last May, he won his first stakes before finishing second in the Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas at The Curragh. Jersey Derby Zephyros had some brutal luck in his stakes debut at Gulfstream Park earlier this month, but the 3-year-old colt could prove undeniable in the $100,000 Jersey Derby, a mile turf race on Saturday at Monmouth. “He had a really tough trip last time and ran well,” said trainer Mark Casse. “I’m really happy with the way he’s training, and I think he’ll be tough.” Casse said he was somewhat surprised when Zephyros went off at 23-1 in the $100,000 English Channel, but wasn’t surprised when the colt rallied for third. If not for a bad start and insurmountable traffic, the colt might already be a stakes winner. Casse also entered Vintur in the field of eight 3-year-olds, though he said he wasn’t sure what to expect from his second runner. The colt ran a lights-out debut at Kentucky Downs last September, but he suffered an injury in the Grade 2 Bourbon at Keeneland and faded in his return at Churchill Downs on May 8. Trainer Ethan West has the only stakes winner in the Jersey Derby, as 3-year-old gelding Aces Honor won the $100,000 Texas Turf Mile in January. He has since faded well back at long odds in stakes tries at Turfway Park and Keeneland. King’s Remark, a debut winner at Aqueduct last month, will make his stakes debut at Monmouth for Miguel Clement. Before the colt’s maiden victory, the trainer said he wanted to find out what he had. He has quickly discovered a stakes contender. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Miss Liberty Ozara will make her belated 5-year-old debut in the $100,000 Miss Liberty Stakes on Saturday. The mare has never finished worse than second in seven listed stakes attempts and should get back in the swing of things in time for summer racing in New York. “Unfortunately, [we] have not been able to run sooner,” trainer Miguel Clement said. “She ran [at Monmouth] last year, which basically was the start of a very successful campaign. We’re just hoping to get the ball started.” In the 2025 edition of the Grade 3 Eatontown at Monmouth, Ozara made her first start for Clement off a nearly two-month break and finished third. She went on to win two stakes at Saratoga, including the Grade 2 Ballston Spa in August. This year, she will enter the 1 1/16-mile Miss Liberty off a six-month layoff. Brisbane, a 6-year-old mare trained by Chad Brown, will make her long-awaited second North American start off a nearly 20-month layoff. The French-bred has only run once in the last three years, winning an allowance at Aqueduct in October 2024. Mark Casse entered two runners, including Mo Fox Givin, who has finished out of the money in three straight graded stakes attempts since October. She is still looking for her first stakes victory. Casse also entered Shotgun Wedding, who switches back to turf after an errant try on dirt last month. In October, she won the $125,000 Ontario Damsel on synthetic at Woodbine for trainer James Begg. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.