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Imprimus Earns Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint Berth With Hard-Fought Victory At Kentucky Downs

One year after getting beat as the favorite in the Grade 3, $700,000 Runhappy Turf Sprint Stakes, Imprimis rewarded those who retained the faith in him on Saturday as the Broken Vow gelding got up by a neck over Front Run the Fed to capture the 2020 edition of the race at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky.

The six-furlong Turf Sprint offered the winner a fees-paid spot in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (Grade 1) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland as part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series' “Win and You're In” program.

The trip to Kentucky Downs for Imprimis represented just the second start of the year for the 6-year-old and his first win since taking the 2019 Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes. Though the record shows the dark bay gelding coming in off a loss in the Grade 3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 8, he actually crossed the wire first by 2 1/4 lengths that day but was disqualified for interference and placed third.

“None of us were happy about it. I'd say 90 percent of the people, because they're my friends or trying to make me feel better, they all thought we got a bad deal,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “But it is what it is. You can't take the win away from the horse. He ran his heart out off a 10-month layoff. Went up there and won that. We're going to get to our goal, that's the Breeders' Cup. He loves Keeneland. So we're pretty excited.”

That big run Imprimis put in at Saratoga was his first start since running sixth in the last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, and it served a warning for the kind of form he would bring to Franklin, Ky.

Sent off as the 3-1 favorite in the 11-horse field, Imprimis rated in fifth in an outside path as Bombard covered the opening quarter mile in :22.39 but found himself shuffled back with a wall of horses in front of him as the field reached the top of the stretch.

With three-sixteenths of a mile to go, Imprimis began making his big on the far outside under jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and ended up in a three-way battle to the wire that saw him surge past Front Run the Fed and third-place finisher Bombard.

“A year ago (when fourth as the favorite), it was his first race since Royal Ascot,” Orseno said. “He wasn't quite back to himself. We tried to rush him along for the Breeders' Cup. We probably made a couple of bad moves.

“I had him where I wanted him (this year),” Orseno added. “I did everything we could do as far as the training and everything he's doing, his weight. We were very happy with him coming here. I expected this effort. But this was a tough race. There were some quality horses in there. I mean, the Breeders' Cup won't be any tougher. We're very happy where we have him right now.”

Said Ortiz: “He ran big. I rode him before on the soft turf at Pimlico, and I knew he handled it pretty good. So I wasn't afraid. I rode him with confidence. They moved outside of me, and I didn't want to see that, but they moved so I said let me just wait because it was a little early. When I tipped him out, he responded really well. He was coming.”

When Imprimis hit the wire in 1:09.93 over a course rated soft, it capped a huge day for owner Mike Hall of Breeze Easy, LLC, who also won the $500,000 Bal a Bali Juvenile Turf Sprint Stakes with Outadore.

“It feels wonderful. What a wonderful horse,” Hall said of Imprimis. “We've had so much fun with him. Since the day we bought him, he's just been an awesome horse. Joe Orseno has done a great job keeping him going.”

Hall was just sorry that his Breeze Easy partner Sam Ross was home in Parkersburg, W.Va., and not at the track. “I know he's jumping up and down,” Hall said. “I love him like my dad, and if it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't be here. He makes this whole game for us much more exciting than what I could do by myself.”

Totally Boss, winner of the Turf Sprint Stakes last year, finished seventh on Saturday.

“He didn't seem to like the track today,” said Florent Geroux, jockey for Totally Boss. “He was stumbling a lot and never got his footing right. He ran even, but hated the track from the beginning. He was never in a good spot.”

Bred in Florida by Craig Wheeler, Imprimis now boasts eight wins from 15 career starts with $759,948 in earnings.

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Breeders’ Cup Berth On the Line in Runhappy Turf Sprint

A full field of 12 and three also-eligibles have been entered for Saturday’s GIII Runhappy Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs, a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland Nov. 7. The six-furlong dash will offer up one of the afternoon’s toughest handicapping challenges to boot.

Totally Boss (Street Boss) pounced from just off the pace to scoop this valuable prize by 1 1/4 lengths last year, then lost all chance when steadied three furlongs from home in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and finished 10th. A troubled eighth in a May 29 Churchill allowance he was bound to need in the first place, the bay completed a Rusty Arnold 1-2 in the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland, dropping a head decision to Leinster (Majestic Warrior) while finishing a neck ahead of Bound For Nowhere (The Factor).

The latter makes just the 15th start of his career and second at Kentucky Downs, where he annexed the 2018 Tourist Mile. A very impressive winner of a seven-furlong Belmont allowance last October, the 6-year-old entire failed by a head in the GIII San Simeon S. at Santa Anita, skipped the trip to Royal Ascot he’d made each of the last three seasons and instead ran a cracking race in the Shakertown.

Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) can improve in his second start off a 13-month absence. The chestnut was set what appeared to be a pretty tall task in returning to action in the GI Jaipur S. on the Belmont S. undercard, but he came to win the race at the eighth pole, only to be run down by the talented Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom).

Stubbins (Morning Line), a close fourth in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, was a troubled third in the May 23 GIII Daytona S. at Santa Anita and was right on a sizzling pace in the Jaipur before weakening to fourth. He handled this course nicely when runner-up in last year’s GIII Franklin-Stamps S.

Imprimis (Broken Vow) was 2 3/4 lengths behind Totally Boss in fourth in this event last year and was across the line first in the GIII Troy S. first off a nine-month layoff, only to be controversially disqualified to third.

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‘Couldn’t Dream Of Anything Better’: Wayne Potts Celebrates Memorable First Stakes Win

It wasn't conventional, but it was memorable. As the years go by, Laurel Park-based trainer Wayne Potts will have no trouble recalling the circumstances of his first career stakes win.

The milestone victory happened Aug. 8 in Saratoga, when Raj Jagnanan's 8-year-old gelding American Sailor finished second in the $200,000 Troy (G3) but had his number put up following the disqualification of first-place finisher Imprimis for interfering with Shekky Shebaz, who ran third.

Potts' breakthrough in the 5 ½-furlong turf sprint for older horses also came as part of Saratoga's Travers (G1) program, the biggest of its summer meet.

“I couldn't dream of anything better,” Potts said. “I've had 12 or 13 seconds … but this was my first one. To knock them both out at the same time, a stakes and a graded-stakes … at Saratoga … on Travers day … it's unbelievable.

“I had dinner [that] night and my phone was beeping and dinging. As I'm walking my horse around waiting for the decision by the stewards, my phone's going off non-stop,” he added. “I had an outpouring of support from everybody just for finishing second in the race, and then when they put us up it was such a different feeling. I wish the stands would have been packed to get that experience but to get national TV coverage and to have that happen, it's fantastic.”

Potts, a 39-year-old native of Rockville, Md. who went out on his own in 2004 after working four years for Charles Town-based trainer David Rose, said he received 374 text messages following the race.

“I was on my phone until almost midnight [that] night trying to respond to everybody and then [the next] morning. It was great. Trainers from Maryland messaging me … the support that I got was amazing,” Potts said. “To the guys in Maryland and where I started back at Charles Town and Shenandoah [Downs] I'd say, 'Guys, keep dreaming. It can happen.'

“I started with one $500 horse. I started from the ground up, cleaning stalls and hotwalking, and I got to where I am today,” he added. “Again, I can't take all the credit. My owners are behind me. My help at the barn, they work endless hours. My assistants, I couldn't do it without them. I give them just as much credit as I give myself.”

Potts hauled American Sailor from Laurel to Saratoga and back himself, giving his stable star a few days off before bringing him back to the track. After getting the winter off for the first time in three years, American Sailor returned with an optional claiming allowance victory June 8 at Laurel, more than seven months following his 2019 finale.

“That race made me feel really good about him. I fought tooth and nail. My owner at first didn't want to give him the time, he wanted to go to Sam Houston like we had been doing,” Potts said. “It took a good 30 days for it to finally sink in and he said, 'You know what, if that's what you want to do go ahead and do that,' so I turned him out.

“He told me [after the race] and he messaged me again [the next] morning and said, 'I have to tell you, the best thing you ever talked me into doing was giving the horse the time off,'” he added. “He came back and he looks fantastic. He looks so good after giving him the time to drop his head and be a horse for the 60 days we gave him. It was great to see the flesh on him coming back. He really filled out and he's really muscled up. It was the right thing to do.”

Jagnanan was also on hand at Saratoga for the win, the 15th of his career for American Sailor, who saw his career bankroll swell over $500,000. Potts claimed American Sailor for $25,000 in September 2017 at Suffolk Downs, lost him for a $7,500 tag the following summer and got him back shortly afterward when Jagnanan purchased him privately.

Since their reunion, American Sailor has put together a record of 5-3-1 from 13 starts for Potts with purse earnings of more than $400,000, the bulk of his races having come at Laurel or Pimlico Race Course.

“Maryland racing is no joke. Maryland racing is very, very tough. Lots of good horsemen, lots of quality horses, lots of good trainers. Maryland racing is very, very competitive,” Potts said. “This horse, he means a lot to me. I'm taking [the DQ win] and running with it. I've been disqualified from races before and I was a little upset about it and the guys that got the win were smiling and walking away, so that's what I'm going to do.”

Potts said he will take his time finding a spot for American Sailor to run back. Laurel will be hosting the $100,000 Laurel Dash for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs on its world-class turf course Monday, Sept. 7 during the extended summer meet.

“We're going to play it by ear,” he said. “I'm going to take the next week, week and a half to see how he comes back and then get him back on the racetrack and go from there. I'm in no rush to wheel him right back.”

Potts was quick to credit Maryland Jockey Club outrider and ex-jockey Kaymarie Kreidel and current Laurel-based rider Tais Lyapustina with American Sailor's development. Lyapustina is recovering from a spill at Laurel three hours before the Troy was run.

“Kaymarie gallops the horse for me and Tais works him all the time for me. The two have done a great job with him. Believe it or not, a guy cannot gallop him. He doesn't get along with them. He's a ladies' man. Both of those ladies have done a fantastic job,” Potts said. “I actually spoke to Tais [the next day]. She said she was a little sore but everything's well. Nothing was broken, which was great news for herself and me. I use her a lot at Laurel.”

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Oh, Brother! American Sailor Awarded Troy Stakes Win Via Disqualification

Raj Jagnanan's American Sailor was elevated to first following the disqualification of Imprimis in Saturday's Grade 3, $200,000 Troy, a 5 ½-furlong sprint on the Mellon turf course at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Breeze Easy's Imprimis, trained by Joe Orseno and piloted by Jose Ortiz, rallied to the lead down the lane but not before lugging in on Shekky Shebaz, guided by his brother, Irad Ortiz, Jr., who was forced to check.

Imprimis crossed the wire 2 1/4-lengths lengths in front of the pacesetting American Sailor, who was a head better than Shekky Shebaz in third. Following a stewards inquiry, Imprimis was disqualified and placed third behind Shekky Shebaz.

“When I hit him the first time, that's when he switched leads and I think that's when I bothered the other horse,” said Ortiz. “It looked like [Imprimis] was the best horse but probably did cost the other horse [Shekky Shebaz] a position.”

American Sailor, with Tyler Gaffalione up, set a swift early tempo of 21.92 seconds and a half-mile in 44.01 with Shekky Shebaz following his early foot. Imprimis settled in third position and began his move into the turn racing outside of horses.

American Sailor maintained a precarious lead at the head of the lane but Imprimis and Shekky Shebaz loomed large. Shekky Shebaz, stopped briefly by Imprimis, re-rallied late in the lane to challenge American Sailor for place.

Rounding out the order of finish were Chewing Gum, Pulsate, Lonhtwist, and the slow starting Pure Sensation.

The victory marked the first stakes win for an emotional trainer Wayne Potts as well as a first win at the Spa from four attempts for the veteran conditioner.

“I'm speechless. This is my first graded win,” said Potts. “My clients have stood behind me through the years with claimers and this is where we're at.”

An 8-year-old son of City Zip, American Sailor arrived at the Troy from a runner-up effort to Archidust in the Wolf Hill on July 18 at Monmouth Park and was making just his third start of the campaign.

“We gave him the winter off this year and I had him for about three years and he really needed a break. He really deserved it,” said Potts. “He doesn't owe us anything, so we decided to give him a break this year and give him some time off instead of shipping him to Sam Houston for the Turf Sprint. He came back at Laurel and ran a fantastic race in his first race back and then he ran in the Wolf Hill, where he got beat by a nice horse for [Hall of Famer Steve] Asmussen. He came out of it well and so I was confident when I brought him up here.”

Gaffalione said he was happy to end up in the winner's circle regardless of the circumstances.

“I don't want to take anything away from my horse, he put in a huge effort today,” said Gaffalione. “I'm thrilled for the owners to come up here and win a nice race like this. It's not the way you want to get it done, but he put in a big effort and he's definitely deserving.”

American Sailor became a stakes winner in the 2016 Bucharest Turf Sprint at Sam Houston for former trainer Joe Sharp and made the grade by capturing the Troy in just his third graded attempt in 45 career starts.

Bred in Kentucky by KatieRich Farms, American Sailor banked $110,000 in victory while improving his record to 15-9-3. He paid $16.80 for a $2 win ticket.

Live racing returns Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $85,000 Alydar in Race 9 and a mandatory payout in the Empire 6. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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