A winner of the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint S. at an additional half of a furlong here last term, Got Stormy narrowly captured the GIII Honey Fox S. at Gulfstream Feb. 27 before rolling a pair of fives in the GII Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. May 1 and GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. at Belmont June 5.

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) was given the nod on the morning-line at odds of 7-2 in this wide-open affair. A flashy come-from-behind upset winner in the Jaipur on the GI Belmont S. undercard two back, he rallied for third in the Fourstardave last time.

Last year's narrow Turf Sprint winner Imprimis (Broken Vow), drawn widest of all in post 12, and dead-heat second-place finishers Bombard (War Front) and Front Run the Fed (Fed Biz) will renew acquaintances again here.

Save a disappointing sixth in the Jaipur, Fast Boat (City Zip) has won three out of his last four, led by a sharp win in Saratoga's GIII Troy S. last time Aug. 6.

Saturday's loaded program at Kentucky Downs also features: the 'Win and You're In' GII Calumet Turf Cup; the GII Franklin-Simpson S., led by GI Bruce D. winner Point Me By (Point of Entry); the GIII Mint Ladies Sprint S., featuring the speedy Venetian Harbor (Munnings); and the GIII Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S.

The post ‘Stormy’ Forecast at Kentucky Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 2019 GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame S. winner followed a sixth-place finish in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. Mar. 6 with wins in Belmont's seven-furlong Elusive Quality S. Apr. 24 and the six-furlong GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. last time June 5. The re-opposing Chewing Gum (Candy Ride {Arg}) completed the exacta that day at 28-1 while the speedy and favored Bound for Nowhere (The Factor) tired to third.

“We backed him up to six furlongs and that was okay, five and a half is a bit of a different race on a different type of course,” Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott said of Casa Creed. “It's a tighter course here, so we'll have to see how he negotiates that.”

Imprimis (Broken Vow), disqualified from first and placed third for interference in this race last year, exited a narrow win in Gulfstream's Janus S. Jan. 1 with consecutive second-place finishes in Tampa's Turf Dash S. Feb. 24 and Keeneland's GII Shakertown S. Apr. 3. He was beaten a nose by the aforementioned classy 7-year-old Bound for Nowhere in the latter.

“He's a very good fresh horse,” trainer Joe Orseno said of the 3-1 morning-line favorite. “When he came out of the gate in the Shakertown, he broke a bone in his nose. We took precautions over it, but he's been fine and ready to run. The Troy has been on our radar since that race. I was thinking about the Jaipur and decided to skip it, but he's ready to go.”

The post Jaipur Rematch in Saratoga’s Troy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The 5 ½-furlong turf sprint over the Mellon turf course is one of three stakes events on the eve of Whitney Day, which also includes the $120,000 Alydar for older horses at nine furlongs over the main track and the $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame for sophomores going a mile over the inner turf.

Conditioned by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, Casa Creed arrives at the Troy off his best performance yet, displaying a devastating late turn-of-foot to capture the Grade 1 Jackpocket Jaipur on Belmont Stakes Day June 5 at Belmont Park, where he earned a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure. The triumph was the 5-year-old son of Jimmy Creed's first start at six furlongs since his July 2018 career debut when sixth over the Saratoga main track.

Casa Creed has seen a considerable cutback in distance after two seasons of campaigning primarily around one mile, a distance where he has found prosperity capturing the Grade 2 Hall of Fame in August 2019 at Saratoga. He also has been graded stakes placed three times at one mile, including a third-place finish to Halladay in last year's Grade 1 Fourstardave at the Spa.

It was a cut back to seven furlongs in the Elusive Quality on April 24 at Belmont Park two starts ago where Casa Creed recaptured winning form for the first time since the Hall of Fame, ending a seven-race losing streak.

“We backed him up to six furlongs and that was okay, five and a half is a bit of a different race on a different type of course,” Mott said. “It's a tighter course here so we'll have to see how he negotiates that.”

Casa Creed has gone 11-1-2-3 at one mile, but Mott said he has benefitted going shorter distances.

“I usually try to get horses to run a mile if they can, which he does. It's pretty obvious he doesn't get beyond a mile that well,” Mott said. “He was a length, a length and a quarter behind some of the best. He's run well and makes that run and has just been touched off a couple of times. Something slightly less than a mile is good for him. Of course, when you're going shorter you need some luck and have to get the right trip.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado has been aboard Casa Creed for both of his graded stakes wins and returns to the irons from post 12.

Mott also saddles Wachtel Stables, Pantofel Stables, and Jerold Zaro's Chewing Gum, who made a late rally to complete a Mott-trained exacta in the Jaipur. The 6-year-old son of Candy Ride seeks his first trip to the winner's circle since besting allowance optional claiming company going six furlongs in June 2020 at Belmont Park.

Jockey Jose Ortiz will ride from post 2.

Trainer Wesley Ward will saddle Bound for Nowhere, the lone millionaire in the field with a record of 16-7-2-3. Owned by his trainer, the lightly-raced 7-year-old son of The Factor returns to action with a redeeming agenda after setting a swift tempo and relinquishing to third in the final furlong of the Jaipur.

In his prior effort in the Grade 2 Shakertown on April 3 at Keeneland Race Course, Bound for Nowhere was forced to switch tactics and come from off the pace after an awkward start, but overcame adversity with a late-closing narrow win, which netted a 105 Beyer. Bound for Nowhere also captured the 2018 Shakertown, when besting talented turf sprinters Bucchero and Disco Partner by four lengths and registering a career-best 107 Beyer.

Bound for Nowhere has put together a solid work pattern heading into the Troy. He worked five-eighths in 1:01.43 over the Oklahoma training turf Saturday, one week after a sharp five-furlong drill in :59.40 over the same course.

“He's ready,” Ward said. “He's doing everything right. We got here early and got a couple of nice breezes here with [assistant trainer and former jockey] David Flores up. His last work was a nice and easy one because he had a stiff one the week before. He's been working as good of works as he's ever had. Usually, when you're coming into a race like this with a horse that's seven years old, you always are worrying about something, but we've got no worries.”

Jockey Joel Rosario rides from post 11.

Breeze Easy's 7-year-old veteran Imprimis will look to shake off four months' worth of rust, returning to a distance where he boasts a 16-8-2-2 record having not raced since finishing second beaten a nose to Bound for Nowhere in the Shakertown.

Trained by Joe Orseno, the Broken Vow dark bay crossed the wire first in last year's Troy but was disqualified and placed third. He was triumphant in his next effort going six furlongs in the Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint on September 12 at Kentucky Downs before finishing 13th in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint on November 5 at Keeneland.

Imprimis emerged from the Shakertown with a broken bone in his nose.

“He's a very good fresh horse. When he came out of the gate in the Shakertown, he broke a bone in his nose. We took precautions over it, but he's been fine and ready to run,” Orseno said. “The Troy has been on our radar since that race. I was thinking about the Jaipur and decided to skip it, but he's ready to go.”

A six-time stakes winner over five different ovals, the well-traveled Imprimis boasts previous stakes wins in the Jim McKay Turf Sprint in May 2018 at Pimlico Race Course, the Wolf Hill two months later at Monmouth Park, as well as the Silks Run [March 2019], and Janus [January 1] at Gulfstream Park.

“He's never been the kind of horse that needed a track,” Orseno said. “Obviously, it's always turf but Kentucky Downs is different than most. Last year, I took him there off a ten-month layoff and his first race back was the Troy. He handled it fine and did what he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, they took him down, but he ran his race. It's kind of the same pattern we're trying to follow.”

Irad Ortiz, Jr. will ride Imprimis from post 7.

Trainer Charlie Appleby has garnered success this year in shipping horses across the pond to New York, including Grade 1 triumphs with Althiqa in the Just a Game at Belmont Park and the Diana at the Spa. The Newmarket-based conditioner sends out Godolphin's dual Group 3 winner Lazuli for the Troy.

The 4-year-old bay son of Dubawi captured the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy at Newbury on September 20 and won the Group 3 Palace House at Newmarket on May 1 two starts later.

Jockey Luis Saez has the mount from post 10.

Rounding out the field are Brad Grady's Fast Boat [post 1, Tyler Gaffalione], a winner of the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs two starts back for trainer Joe Sharp; Louisiana-bred stakes winner Classy John [post 3, John Velazquez]; John Terranova-trained three-time winner Backtohisroots [post 4, Manny Franco]; graded stakes-placed Front Run the Fed [post 5, Ricardo Santana, Jr.]; Calumet Farms' ultra-consistent Gear Jockey [post 6, Jose Lezcano]; multiple stakes winner Carotari [post 8, Javier Castellano] for trainer Brian Lynch; and Chateau [post 9, Dylan Davis], a graded-stakes winner on dirt for trainer Rob Atras.

The Troy is carded as Race 9 on Friday's 10-race program. First post is 1:05 p.m.

The post Casa Creed, Bound for Nowhere Headline Troy Stakes At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Published reports and social media have had some incorrect information about what did and didn't happen to my horse Imprimis, who finished second by a nose to Bound for Nowhere in Keeneland's Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes Saturday while racing without the anti-bleeder medication Lasix. I want to set the record straight:

Thank God the considerable blood coming from Imprimis' left nostril after the race was not pulmonary hemorrhaging. It also was not from what has been erroneously reported as being a cut on his nose sustained when he broke through the gate prior to the start. Imprimis does have a sizable bump on his nose – about six inches from his nostril – from where his head apparently hit the gate, but he did not sustain any cuts. The endoscopic examination that I had my private veterinarian conduct did reveal trace levels of Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhaging. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't more severe.

The bleeding episode apparently was like being punched in the nose, when you can develop a nose bleed without being cut. So Imprimis must have banged his head pretty hard and it went unnoticed.

I also don't retract what I told journalists after the race. I'll say it again right now: It's not good for the industry what they're doing forcing horses, particularly older horses, to run without Lasix in stakes races. And apparently that's not just one trainer's opinion. I didn't know so many people had my phone number, all the horsemen who called or emailed me and said, “thank you for speaking up” — trainers I don't even know. Someone in California called me out of the clear blue and said “thank you, someone had the guts to say something.” I don't look at it that way. At the time, it wasn't about guts, it was about being very upset over my horse. I've been doing this 44 years and it's not just my livelihood, it's my life.

The state vets at Keeneland did a very thorough examination on my horse in the morning. I'm sure they looked at him after he broke through the gate, saw no cuts, saw no head abrasions, no blood in his nose then. They put him back in the gate and let him run. If they had seen anything, I'm sure they would have scratched him.

The first thing I do after a race is look at their legs, and make sure everything is OK. When I subsequently saw his nose and blood just pouring off his left nostril, you have to assume the horse bled.

When the press asked me about the race, the first thing I said was, “Well, I think my horse ran a great race, got beat by a very good horse.” I said, “He beat me, I beat him (in 2019 Shakertown), only noses separated them.”

Then I started on the bleeding, because I thought my horse bled horribly. That's when I made my statement that someone has to explain to me why we're making horses bleed, older horses that have run on Lasix their whole life, and now all of a sudden you're going to penalize the best horses in the country. It's not good for the game, when we can stop it with an easy fix.

My veterinarian's endoscopic exam of Imprimis showed that most of the blood was from banging his head. He did have traces, a trickle down his throat, showing that he did bleed a little in the trachea. We were very lucky. Now he might still be on track for his next race. I was very pleased for the owners that I didn't have to put him away for four or five months. He's bright-eyed today and looks great. He just has a bump on his nose.

There are many horses that bleed significantly but not always externally. It is wrong and naive to think no damage is being done to horses just because they didn't bleed through the nostrils. It is also deceptive for those who are trying to label an EIPH episode only by visible blood from the nostrils. How are you going to tell an owner this horse is going to only run four times this year instead of eight or nine because I need more time in between to heal them up because he bleeds and we can't use Lasix? They are going to start to get disgusted, and horses will be hurt if they return at all. Owners are not going to be as excited about buying horses and racing if they can't run them more than four times a year.

I am on the board of the Florida HBPA. We are scoping stakes horses – which must run without Lasix at Gulfstream Park – and we're paying for it so we hopefully can all learn something and together make informed and intelligent policy decisions from transparent data going forward. I'd say overall that the overwhelming majority of these horses are bleeding to some degree. The numbers aren't good. Do we really want to do this to our horses? I sure don't.

The post Orseno: ‘Wrong And Naïve To Think No Damage Is Being Done To Horses Just Because They Didn’t Bleed Through The Nostrils’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

“Published reports and social media have had some incorrect information about what did and didn't happen to my horse Imprimis…Saturday while racing without the anti-bleeder medication Lasix. I want to set the record straight.

“Thank God the considerable blood coming from Imprimis' left nostril after the race was not pulmonary hemorrhaging. It also was not from what has been erroneously reported as being a cut on his nose sustained when he broke through the gate prior to the start. Imprimis does have a sizable bump on his nose–about six inches from his nostril–from where his head apparently hit the gate, but he did not sustain any cuts. The endoscopic examination that I had my private veterinarian conduct did reveal trace levels of Exercise Induced Pulmonary Hemorrhaging [EIPH]. I'm just so thankful that it wasn't more severe.”

Orseno reported Imprimis is doing well this week, but does have a large bump still visible on his nose. He stands by what he said about the new Lasix rules.

“I also don't retract what I told journalists after the race. I'll say it again right now: It's not good for the industry what they're doing forcing horses, particularly older horses, to run without Lasix in stakes races. And apparently that's not just one trainer's opinion. I didn't know so many people had my phone number, all the horsemen who called or emailed me and said, 'Thank you for speaking up'–trainers I don't even know. Someone in California called me out of the clear blue and said, 'Thank you, someone had the guts to say something.' I don't look at it that way. At the time, it wasn't about guts, it was about being very upset over my horse. I've been doing this 44 years and it's not just my livelihood, it's my life.

“I made my statement that someone has to explain to me why we're making horses bleed, older horses that have run on Lasix their whole life, and now all of a sudden you're going to penalize the best horses in the country. It's not good for the game, when we can stop it with an easy fix.

“My veterinarian's endoscopic exam of Imprimis showed that most of the blood was from banging his head. He did have traces, a trickle down his throat, showing that he did bleed a little in the trachea. We were very lucky.

“There are many horses that bleed significantly but not always externally. It is wrong and naive to think no damage is being done to horses just because they didn't bleed through the nostrils. It is also deceptive for those who are trying to label an EIPH episode only by visible blood from the nostrils. How are you going to tell an owner this horse is going to only run four times this year instead of eight or nine because I need more time in between to heal them up because he bleeds and we can't use Lasix? They are going to start to get disgusted, and horses will be hurt if they return at all. Owners are not going to be as excited about buying horses and racing if they can't run them more than four times a year.

“I am on the board of the Florida HBPA. We are scoping stakes horses–which must run without Lasix at Gulfstream Park–and we're paying for it so we hopefully can all learn something and together make informed and intelligent policy decisions from transparent data going forward. I'd say overall that the overwhelming majority of these horses are bleeding to some degree. The numbers aren't good. Do we really want to do this to our horses? I sure don't.”

The post Trainer Orseno Responds to Bleeding Incident appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Kentucky began a partial phaseout of race day furosemide last year, beginning with 2-year-old races and expanding to include stakes races this year. The drug may now be given no closer than 24 hours before post time in those contests.

Dr. Bruce Howard, equine medical director for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, confirmed that Hidden Scroll's case of epistaxis (visible bleeding from the nostrils) due to EIPH was the first on record since the new rules were implemented. EIPH can occur without visible bleeding from the nostrils and is often detectable only on endoscopic examination; more severe incidents may result in epistaxis.

A frustrated Joe Orseno, who trains multiple graded stakes winner Imprimis, told media immediately after the horse's runner-up effort in the G2 Shakertown that he believed his horse also suffered from epistaxis due to EIPH. Orseno said he could see blood on the horse's nose at the finish, where he was just edged by Bound for Nowhere.

“You're not allowed to run on Lasix anymore,” said Orseno. “They're taking the best horses in the country and they're penalizing them. My horse bled today, visibly. Blood coming out of his nose. How is that good for the public's perception of Lasix? Somebody needs to answer that question. It's not fair to take a horse like this and make 'em bleed. It's just not fair. I wish you'd print every word of that, because it's total bullshit.

“My horse didn't have to bleed. Let him run on Lasix … I care about my horse and his physical condition.”

Orseno pointed out that a bleeding event from EIPH can knock a horse off its training schedule.

“I was supposed to run him in two months, now it's going to be four,” he said. “So I've got to tell the owners, forget the Jaipur, now maybe Saratoga, maybe not, because who knows. I don't know. You never know the damage it does to horses.”

The full interview, courtesy of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association's Jennie Rees, is available here, following comments from Bound for Nowhere trainer Wesley Ward:

Howard said that besides Hidden Scroll, there was one other incident on Saturday's card related to blood on a horse's nose, but it wasn't a result of EIPH.

“I think the other one which might have been commented on was a horse who broke through the starting gate before the start,” said Howard. “It was examined and reloaded, and ran its race. Post-race, there was a small amount of blood noted in a nostril. The horse was examined in the test barn and a small abrasion or laceration was noted. The private veterinarian came and scoped the horse and there was no bleeding noted in the lower airways.”

Imprimis broke through the starting gate before the start of the Shakertown.

Kentucky's commission voted unanimously for the partial furosemide phaseout in December 2019 and racetracks implemented house rules preventing the administration of furosemide less than 24 hours before a race for 2-year-olds beginning in spring 2020, as a stopgap until the new rule worked its way through legislative approval and became law. The Kentucky HBPA took the tracks and commission to court over the house rules and commission regulation changes. A judge ruled in favor of the tracks and commission in November 2020.

Kentucky does keep records of epistaxis events, and is also participating in a multi-jurisdiction study to administer scopes post-race on horses subject to the 24-hour furosemide rule. The academic study, led by Washington State University, will compare scope results from jurisdictions with a variety of furosemide administration times. Data collection is ongoing and the university is not expected to release results until analysis is complete. Howard was unable to comment on the data collected from Kentucky.

The post Kentucky Commission: Hidden Scroll Was State’s First Epistaxis Case Since 24-Hour Lasix Ban appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Owned and trained by Wesley Ward, Bound For Nowhere ran the 5 1/2 furlongs over the turf rated “good” in 1:02.19. Joel Rosario, winning his third race on the card, had to work out a trip from the outside stall in a field of 12 rivals, but had the older horse flying late to run down Imprimis, the 2019 Shakertown winner, by a nose.

“He's a really hard horse to train,” Ward said. “He's got a lot of issues that he's overcome. Just minor deals, but major setbacks when you're trying to keep him at this level. I've got to give all the credit to his rider who rides him every day, Julio Garcia, who's ridden him the majority of his career. He was supposed to ride him today and he said, 'No Wesley I'm officially retired.' But he's on him every day for all these years, and I can't thank that little fella enough.”

Imprimis broke out of the gates ahead of the start, but was cleared by the state veterinarian to re-load and start. Johnny Unleashed and The Critical Way were sharpest off the blocks, speeding through a first quarter in :21.42. Imprimis was in fifth position near the inside, while Bound For Nowhere was about eight lengths off the leaders and five wide.

The Critical Way and Johnny Unleashed stayed on strong until mid-stretch, but Imprimis had found clear room on the outside and took command at the sixteenth pole. Bound For Nowhere had perfect aim on him, though, and laid his heart down to get his nose down on the wire. Imprimis settled for second with The Critical Way Third, and Johnny Unleased fourth.

Bound For Nowhere has now won nine of his 15 lifetime starts, earning just shy of $1 million. Bred in Kentucky by Wayne, Gray, and Bryan Lyster, Bound for Nowhere is out of the Alydeed mare Fancy Deed, herself a half sister to multimillion-dollar earner Midnight Lute.

The post Bound For Nowhere Does It Again: 7-Year-Old Captures Second Shakertown Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The Shakertown will go as the eighth race on Saturday afternoon's 11-race program with a 4:57 p.m. post time.

Also trained by Ward, Bound for Nowhere was caught late in the past two runnings of the Shakertown, finishing a neck behind Imprimis in 2019 when running second, and a neck behind Leinster and Totally Boss in last year's running that was his most recent start. Joel Rosario has the mount and will break from post position 13.

Trained by Joe Orseno, Imprimis has a victory and a runner-up finish in his 2021 starts. He ended last season with a troubled trip in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1) here in which he finished 13th. Paco Lopez has the mount Saturday and will exit post position two.

Soaring Free (2004-2005) is the only two-time winner of the Shakertown.

The field for the Shakertown, with riders and weights from the inside, is: Smart Remark (Rafael Bejarano, 122 pounds), Imprimis (Lopez, 124), Chess Master (Jesus Castanon, 122), Hollis (Gabriel Saez, 124), Turned Aside (Chris Landeros, 124), Readyforprimetime (Mitchell Murrill, 122), Kanthaka (Javier Castellano, 122), American Butterfly (Drayden Van Dyke, 122), Just Might (Colby Hernandez, 122), Johnny Unleashed (Gerardo Corrales, 122), High Crime (Julien Leparoux, 122), The Critical Way (Luis Saez, 124) and Bound for Nowhere (Rosario, 122).

The post Previous Winners Bound For Nowhere, Imprimis Clash In 2021 Shakertown appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The Janus, a five-furlong turf sprint for 4-year-olds and up, was the first of three stakes on the New Year's Day card, including the $75,000 Cash Run, and the $75,000 Abundantia. Imprimis' jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. also rode Gulf Coast to victory in the Cash Run and guided Hear My Prayer to win the Abundantia to finish the 11-race card with five victories.

Imprimis, the 4-5 favorite, ran his career record to 5-for-5 over the Gulfstream Park turf course, providing a measure of comfort for the disappointment his trainer felt following the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland.

“I even said, 'I'm feeling more pressure today that I did at the Breeders' Cup, and today he's supposed to win,” trainer Joe Orseno said.

Imprimis, who had to be checked hard by Ortiz after his stretch bid was shut off at Keeneland, didn't have another horse in his path while making his wide drive to the finish line, enabling him to finish a neck ahead of Extravagant Kid, who was beaten by only a length while finishing fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

“He ran down a credible horse. When Extravagant Kid got the jump on him, I thought I was in trouble, because he's a good horse. The horse made about a million dollars,” Orseno said. “I'm very pleased to get a good trip.”

Imprimis did experience a little crowding following the break, settling in fifth along the backstretch as The Critical Way showed the way into the homestretch while setting swift fractions of 21.09 and 43.22 seconds for a half-mile. Extravagant Kid, who rated fourth on the backstretch, made a three-wide move on the turn into the homestretch to get the jump on the favorite, who quickly joined him to his outside. The Critical Way, ridden by Paco Lopez, held gamely while tiring but was unable to hold off his two more high-profile rivals, finishing just a head behind runner-up Extravagant Kid, the 5-2 second choice.

The multiple graded-stakes winner Imprimis ran five furlongs on a firm turf in 54.82 seconds.

“Last time it was a little sad after the trip I had in the Breeders' Cup. I feel like it's one of those races that you probably could have won, and those races don't come back. It's one time the whole year, so I was so sad for them because he worked so hard and he deserved it. I probably made a bad decision, so I feel bad,” Ortiz said “But thank God, today I was able to ride him back, and to be able to be in the winner's circle is very special for me. Moving forward after this race, he's a nice horse and he's doing so good right now I think he's doing better than ever. I expect a good year for him.”

The $100,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint (G3) Feb. 13 is a possibility for the 7-year-old son of Broken Vow's next start.

“The horse will tell me. The plan is to go to it. The plan was to go to the next one, not this one, but he was doing so well. It was hard to pass up. When they're hitting the ground like this and doing this well and feeling this good, you're afraid they're going to do something to hurt themselves. So, I took advantage and ran him in this race,” Orseno said “We'll see about the next one. If he's doing like this and is 100 percent, then yes.”

The post Imprimis Stays Perfect On Gulfstream Turf; One Of Five Winners On Day For Irad Ortiz Jr. appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

“It’s a big adjustment and I’m not fond of the new rules,” he said. “I don’t see how you can take a horse who has been running on Lasix his whole life and all of a sudden penalize the best horses in the country for being good horses. They didn’t think this through. I don’t know how it won’t be animal cruelty when you see a horse come back and there is blood coming out of both nostrils.”

Though no fan of the new rules, Orseno doesn’t believe that Imprimis will have a problem and he did start the turf sprinter without Lasix in 2019 when venturing to Royal Ascot for the G1 King’s Stand S. Imprimis was sixth that day in his only career start without the anti-bleeding medication. But Orseno is adamant that the new rules will cause more problems than they will solve.

“Lasix isn’t going away,” he said. “These horses are still going to train on it and we’re going to breeze our horses on it. We’re going to do everything but run on it that day. And you know what? They’re going to find other things to use on these horses, whether it’s tomorrow or the next day. Someone down the line is going to find something they can cheat with and everyone is going to find out about it. All they are doing is creating cheaters in the sport. This just isn’t good.”

Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. will send out Miss Auramet (Uncaptured) in the day’s Abundantia S. It will be her 17th career start and first without Lasix. Like Orseno, he is not a fan of the new regulations.

“I have been doing this for a long time and the one medication that I have seen that has been most important for the well being of the horses has been Lasix,” he said. “There has been a negative reaction to Lasix, but not from the horsemen or by horse people that use it. They say a concern is that it masks other drugs. I don’t see it that way. I see it as a medication that people take every single day. It helps people without doing anything negative to them and it’s the same thing with horses. People that aren’t horse people have made these decisions and I think it was somewhat fueled by PETA and others. If you went ahead and polled all the horse trainers they would be overwhelmingly for the use of Lasix.”

Lasix will be less of a factor in the Cash Run S., a race for 3-year-old fillies. With Lasix having been banned in 2-year-old races at Gulfstream in 2019, most of the starters have been running medication free. That’s nowhere near the case for the Janus S., which brings together a group of veteran turf sprinters, most of whom have never run without the medication. That includes the second choice on the morning line, Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid). Trained by Brendan Walsh, the 8-year-old veteran will be making his 47th career start. Walsh has no idea what to expect.

“You wonder what’s going to happen with an older horse like this one who has run a bunch of times on Lasix,” he said. “How is he going to react to it? We’ll just have to see what happens. He’s not a bleeder but he’s never run without it. We’ll be able to form a better opinion after we’ve seen a bunch of these races. It’s hard to make any judgments.”

While Walsh is willing to keep an open mind, he is among the many horsemen who believe the sport has far bigger problems than Lasix.

“I don’t think this is the be all and end all of the problems here,” he said. “There are a lot more factors outside of this. Lasix is one of the sport’s lesser problems.”

Trainer Jose Delgado will start The Critical Way (Tizway) in the Janus. He says his horse has been getting the minimum dosage of Lasix and should be fine without the medication. But he is among those who is not in favor of the ban. He doesn’t want to see situations where horses are visibly bleeding from nostrils after running without Lasix.

“I really don’t think it is fair for a lot of horses because they normally bleed,” he said. “I don’t know why they are doing this. Maybe PETA has something to do with it. You’re going to see horses come out of races bleeding from the nose and the public is going to see that. That’s not going to look good. But what can we do? We have to follow the rules.”

Kent Sweezey has Blind Ambition (Tapit), a horse who comes from off the pace, in the Janus. Sweezey said the Lasix ban is more likely to hurt front runners because they exert themselves early on in their races.

“I think the pace will be a big thing,” he said. “I’d love to see it where horses settled rather than always having some horse going :22 and change on the front end. You may not see that anymore because if they do that they’re going to bleed without the Lasix. It could be so bad that they won’t be able to run for another six weeks or at least run competitively for another six weeks.”

That’s something bettors may need time to figure out. And not only will they have to decipher races like the Janus and the Abundantia where every horse is coming off Lasix, there are nine horses on the Friday card at Gulfstream that are racing with Lasix for the first time. There will be dozens more in the days ahead, most of them newly turned 3-year-olds who are coming out of 2-year-old races where Lasix was banned in 2020.

Orseno wishes they just left everything the way it was.

“There are a lot of things they need to address, things a lot more important than Lasix,” he said. “And now they are picking on the best horses in the country by banning it in stakes races. To me, it just doesn’t make any sense.”

The post Florida Trainers React to Lasix Ban in Stakes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post