Imprimis being pointed to King's Stand at Royal Ascot

Trainer Joe Orseno was still on Cloud 9 upon returning to South Florida late Monday morning, less than 48 hours after his turf sprint star Imprimis overcame a poor start to register an eye-catching victory in the Grade 2 Shakertown on Saturday at Keeneland.

Imprimis stumbled badly after the break under jockey Paco Lopez but somehow managed to recover and run down 8-5 favorite Bound for Nowhere after the latter had opened a seemingly comfortable advantage through midstretch of the 5 1/2-furlong Shakertown. The win was the seventh in nine career starts for Imprimis, who was purchased privately by his owners, Breeze Easy LLC, after launching his career at Gulfstream with trainer Tim Hills during the winter of 2018.

“We got really lucky, and he came out of the race okay,” Orseno said. “The way he stumbled like that, it’s fortunate he didn’t grab his quarter or something like that. All he’s got are a few little scratches and he’s supposed to have those after what happened.”

Orseno said all he could think of after the unlucky beginning was Imprimis’s race last summer at Woodbine when he encountered an eventful trip and suffered one of his two career losses in the Grade 1 Highlander.

“All the owners were there Saturday and they had about 30 guests with them, just like in Canada, and after they broke, I remember thinking, ‘Oh no, this can’t be happening again,’ ” Orseno said. “I saw he was running on the turn but I really didn’t know what to expect at that point he was so far back. But Paco has a lot of confidence in this horse, and he just really exploded and got the job done.”

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Orseno said Imprimis was due back at Gulfstream Park on Tuesday afternoon and will likely be pointed to the Group 1 King’s Stand at Royal Ascot in June.

“The owners won a race (the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes) with Wesley Ward last year at Ascot with Shang Shang Shang, and they said they’d love to go back again,” Orseno said. “They’re not putting a gun to my head with him, but I’d like to make the race if I can. This gives me 10 weeks to the race and it wouldn’t interrupt our plans for the Breeders’ Cup, which is still our main goal for the year. After the race at Pimlico last year (the Jim McKay Turf Sprint), when he won so easily over that soft course, I think he proved he could handle any kind of turf course, like the one in England,”

Orseno is hoping he might have another grass sprinter on his hands and will send out Ms Meshak to make her turf debut in Thursday’s $48,000 main event, which is scheduled to be run at five furlongs. Ms Meshak, a daughter of Shackleford, won a pair of allowance races during the opening month of the Gulfstream Park championship meeting but has never competed on grass in 10 previous starts.

“I entered her no less than five times on dirt and the races aren’t going, so my only option is this turf race,” Orseno said. “Hopefully, it will rain and come off, but if not we’ll try the grass, and if she likes it that opens a whole new path for me with her. The main thing is to get a race into her since there’s a Florida-bred stakes going seven furlongs I’m pointing her for here in 30 days.”

Ms Meshak is one of eight fillies and mares entered in the main event, with Fly the likely favorite and one to beat coming off a third-place finish behind Samara and Factorofwon in her last start. Those two flattered the race by returning to capture their next starts, with Samara’s subsequent win coming in a stakes.

◗ The first 2-year-old race of the meet is on tap Thursday, a 4 1/2-furlong dash for fillies that drew a field of eight, plus one also-eligible. Reiterate, a half-sister to turf specialist and $207,000 winner Gliding By; Sonar, a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Clear Attempt; and Marva, owned and trained by Wesley Ward; appear to be the leading contenders.