Neck ‘n Neck, Five Sixteen prep for Travers; Speightscity added to field

Neck ‘n Neck, Five Sixteen prep for Travers; Speightscity
added to field

Neck ‘n Neck put it all together in style in the Matt Winn (Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography) Trainer Ian Wilkes declared Neck ‘n Neck ready for Saturday’s Grade 1, $1 million Travers after the Grade 2 Jim Dandy runner-up breezed five furlongs in 1:00 at Saratoga on Monday. “He did it well in hand. He never extended himself,” Wilkes said. “He just floated around there, finished up down the lane good, galloped out good, pulled up happy, walked off the track happy. I’m happy.” After Neck ‘n Neck finished fifth in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis, fourth in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, and fifth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, Wilkes dropped him into an entry-level allowance on May 10 at Churchill Downs. The colt won by 6 1/2 lengths, then captured Churchill’s Grade 3 Matt Winn by 7 1/4 lengths on June 16 and was second to Alpha in the Jim Dandy on July 28. Wilkes expressed gratitude for how owner A. Stevens Miles Jr. put no pressure on him to make the Triple Crown with Neck ‘n Neck and was content to focus on races in the second half of the year. “It’s a grind to get here,” Wilkes said. “You have to keep them sound, healthy, happy, and on top of their game. It takes a good horseman to do that. Sometimes you get too caught up in (the Triple Crown). That’s the good thing with Mr. Miles. The first thing he said to me was, ‘If you can’t make it, no problem. Don’t do it.’ So there was no pressure on me when my horse wasn’t quite ready. I was ready to back off and point for this.”

In the 1 1/8-mile Jim Dandy, Neck ‘n Neck chased Alpha, who was unpressured on
the lead, to finish second by two lengths. Wilkes believes Neck ‘n Neck could
encounter a more favorable pace scenario in the 1 1/4-mile Travers.

“He can be wherever he wants, and that’s the good thing,” said Wilkes. “We have
a smart rider in Leandro (Goncalves) who knows the horse and he understands him,
and that’s good. It depends on how fast they go, but with Hansen coming it could
change the pace scenario. I think we’ll see a little more pace than we did last
time. It could be a different track, a different race. And it all depends on
post position, too, as to what tactics you use.”

Before the race is drawn, Wilkes says he will focus on Neck ‘n Neck, not his
possible competition.

“There’s only one horse I can control — my own,” Wilkes said. “If you start
worrying about what other people are doing — I have no control — you only give
yourself ulcers.”

Also on the worktab for the Travers was Five Sixteen, who breezed four furlongs
in :49. In this two most recent starts, Five Sixteen was fifth in the
Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 9 and second to Street Life in the Curlin on July
27.

“He’s matured and he’s coming around the right way,” said Dominick Schettino,
who trains Five Sixteen for MeB Racing Stables. “He’s physically going the right
way.”

Joining the field for the Travers is Speightscity, who will be making his first start since
finishing second to Alpha in the Grade 3 Withers on February 24 at Aqueduct.

“We were going to run in the Bernardini (overnight stakes on Friday), which was
a more realistic spot for us, but the race did not fill,” trainer Gary Contessa
said. “I’ve never seen a horse win a race like the Travers, at 1 1/4 miles,
off workouts. This horse hasn’t run since February, but back in February he was
getting to Alpha at the end of the Withers. In my opinion, he was closing the
gap a little but. Who knows? You have to be in it to win it.”

Sepightscity, a son of Speightstown, is 2-1-0 from seven starts with earnings
of $109,860. He has been training steadily at Saratoga this summer, and most
recently posted mile works in 1:39 1/5 on August 17 and 1:40 on August 13.

Irad Ortiz Jr. will ride, Contessa said.

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