SARATOGA SPRINGS — Gary Contessa hasn’t been involved in a Travers Stakes since 1981, and it showed.
During Wednesday morning’s post-position draw in the paddock, not only did he attend but he also brought his horse, Speightscity, a 30-1 longshot who was supplemented to the $1 million Travers at a cost of $20,000.
“I screwed up. I thought he told me he wanted to bring the horse,” joked Contessa, who was the assistant trainer to Jimmy Picou in 1981 when they won the Travers with Willow Hour. “Actually, it’s just a coincidence, today was the day we normally school him.”
Speightscity, who drew the rail, hasn’t started in a race since finishing second in the Feb. 4 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct, behind Alpha, who was made the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the Travers, breaking from post six.
After finishing second in the Withers, Speightscity exited the race with a knee problem that sidelined him for 45 days.
“I thought for sure he broke his knee, but we dodged a bullet,” said Contessa, who was the leading trainer in New York from 2006-2009. “He only wrenched it. The biggest question now is: Is he fit enough? I’m not sure. He’s had two really good works over this track. So he’s certainly a mile and an eighth fit. That last eighth of mile is the only question mark. I think he wants to go a mile and a quarter. He’s that kind of horse.”
No horse in the Travers has won at its mile-and-a-quarter distance, and only two are entering the race off of victories Alpha in the Jim Dandy and Street Life in the Curlin. The latter was made the 5-1 fourth choice on the morning line, breaking from post five.
Nonios, who was second in the Haskell Invitational — won by Paynter, who passed the Travers because of a temperature — was made the 4-1 second choice, breaking from post 10, and Jim Dandy runnerup Neck ’n Neck was made the 9-2 third choice, breaking from post eight.
Hansen, the champion juvenile colt of 2011, was expected to enter the Travers, but tore a tendon in his left front leg and will likely be retired, according to owner Dr. Kendall Hansen.
“He’s on anti-inflammatories now and we’ll wait to see what the scans look like,” Hansen said. “I really wanted to run him as a 4-year-old but it doesn’t look good. Right now I’m just heartbroken and in shock. I had a real good feeling going into the Travers that he was going to set the pace and just keep on going.”
FATAL INJURY
For the second straight racing day there was a spill on the track involving a horse fatality. Bluember broke his right front leg in the stretch of the seventh and was vanned off and euthanized. He became the fourth race day fatality of the meeting.