Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Imprimis would kill for a Florida orange
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Imprimis was a graded stakes winner at Keeneland this season and won his most recent outing in September at Kentucky Downs, but trainer Joe Orseno was in no hurry to ship the gelding from his Florida base back to the Bluegrass State to prepare for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. In addition to getting to remain in his regular routine for longer, Imprimis enjoys a specific local luxury.
“He eats like a bag of mandarin oranges a day, and they’re very fresh in Florida,” Orseno said after Imprimis went to the Keeneland training track Monday morning. “If we came here [earlier], they would have had to be shipped from Florida. He loves mandarin oranges. You’ve gotta see him eat them. He’ll attack you for them.”
Imprimis turned in his final breeze toward the Turf Sprint on Oct. 24 at Gulfstream, working a half-mile on dirt. Orseno originally wanted to work on turf, but the weather did not cooperate, leaving the course too soft for a serious move.
“The weather just didn’t cooperate,” Orseno said. “Gulfstream did everything they could to try and help me, but it just wasn’t gonna happen. . . . It just was too soft. I think I would have told the rider to protect him. He got more out of the dirt work.”
Imprimis’s first morning since shipping to Keeneland was a frosty one, but horses evolved as cold-weather animals, so he relished the change from Florida to Kentucky.
“This cold weather, he’s loving it,” Orseno said. “I’m not, but he is.”