Orseno thinking big with undefeated turf sprinter Imprimis

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Justify may have been the most noteworthy undefeated stakes winner running last week at Pimlico, but he wasn’t the only one.

One day before Justify registered his fifth victory in as many starts in the Preakness, Imprimis ran his record to a perfect 4 for 4 with a much easier 5 1/4-length triumph in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint. And like Justify, Imprimis did not even begin his career until February of 2018.

That’s where the similarity between the two horses ends. Unlike Justify, Imprimis is a Florida-bred 4-year-old turf specialist who has never raced beyond five furlongs. Each of his first three victories came at Gulfstream Park, beginning with a maiden triumph on Feb. 2. He was purchased privately by Breeze Easy LLC following a one-sided statebred allowance win here less than four weeks later for trainer Tim Hills.

Imprimis was turned over to trainer Joe Orseno at that point and has continued to progress with each start, capturing an open entry-level allowance race at Gulfstream by 4 1/4 lengths on March 24 before shipping to Maryland, where he handled the soft turf course without a hitch Friday in the Turf Sprint, earning a career-best 103 Beyer Speed Figure.

“Obviously we weren’t happy with the conditions the other day, but it was the same for everybody and we actually went there with the intention of running even if the race came off the grass,” said Orseno, who has 32 horses stabled at Gulfstream Park and another eight at Monmouth Park. “He’s got a lot of dirt and slop pedigree on the dam’s side, and he handles the main track fine every time we breezed him at Gulfstream over the past few weeks. In fact he’s probably been outrunning his pedigree a little on the turf, although we’re not going to change anything now if we don’t have to.”

Orseno had originally contemplated having Imprimis make his stakes debut on Derby Day in the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint before calling an audible shortly before the race.

“The plan since I got him was to try to make things as easy for him as we could, which is why I chose to come to Maryland instead of running in the race at Churchill Downs,” said Orseno. “I never dreamed at that point we’d now be thinking about planning a trip back to Churchill for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.”

The Jim McKay Turf Sprint was part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship Series, which has returned following a 16-year absence, and continues over the next several months throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

“The MATCH Series is great, but the next race for him is in just two weeks at Penn National and I’m a big believer in the bounce theory, so it’s unlikely we’d look there,” said Orseno.

Orseno said other options include the Grade 3 Parx Dash on July 7, also part of the MATCH series, or the Highlander Stakes at Woodbine on June 30, a Win and You’re In for the Breeder’s Cup Turf Sprint.

Meanwhile, Imprimis will join Orseno’s Monmouth string.

“It’s a more central location for what we’ll be doing with him and a better option than returning him to South Florida at the moment,” said Orseno.

Orseno, who flew back to South Florida himself on Tuesday, is off to a good start at the Gulfstream spring-summer meet. He said his stable has gotten a big boost not only from the Breeze Easy Stable of Sam Ross and Mike Hall, but also owner-breeders Frank and Patricia Generazio.

“Last year when I stabled at Gulfstream in the summer for the first time, it was kind of a rebuilding year for me,” said Orseno, who is best known for winning the 2000 Preakness with Red Bullet and both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Filly and Mare Turf later that fall with Macho Uno and Perfect Sting. “It was like I was starting all over, and even so I thought we had a pretty good year. This summer, things are different. I’ve got a lot of new stock and a lot of live horses, including some nice, well-bred babies that just came in here down here as well as a bunch of New Jersey-breds I’ll have at Monmouth for the Generazios.”

◗ The upcoming local schedule includes five days of racing next week beginning with a special Memorial Day card on Monday featuring the $60,000 Home of the Brave Stakes. Carded at 1 1/2 miles on turf, the race is open to any horse who has ever run for a claiming tag. There will also be a stakes race each day next Friday-Sunday, starting with the $75,000 Opening Lead at six furlongs. The race serves as a prep for the Grade 3 Smile Sprint on Summit of Speed Day four weeks later.