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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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Blinkers, Soft Ground Help Arklow Turn Tables On Zulu Alpha In Kentucky Turf Cup

They have been two of the more durable members of the turf male ranks for the last five seasons and on Saturday at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., the latest chapter in the rivalry between Grade 1 winner Arklow and Zulu Alpha geared up for yet another run – this time at the venue where each had previously enjoyed success.

Where Zulu Alpha had gotten the best of his rival in last year's edition of the Grade 3, $1-million Calumet Farm Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes, trading blows had been the name of the game for the two warriors in their nine meetings prior to Saturday. So after losing Kentucky Downs bragging rights with a second in 2019, Arklow fittingly turned the tables on his old foe when he captured the 1 1/2-mile Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths over Red Knight, with Zulu Alpha a late-running third.

Trained by Brad Cox for Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger, and Peter Coneway, Arklow previously annexed the Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes in 2018 and has been a stalwart in his division -– placing in the top three eight times since that triumph, including a runner-up effort in this race last year. Things haven't been as smooth for the 6-year-old son of Arch since winning the 2019 Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes, however, as he had lost his last five starts coming into Saturday's test.

Zulu Alpha, by contrast, had won three of four starts in 2020 including a victory in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational on January 25. That momentum would be blunted over the soft ground on Saturday though as Arklow — wearing blinkers for the first time in a race — got a perfect trip sitting in the first flight just off the leaders before making his winning bid down the lane under jockey Florent Geroux.

“He was pretty sharp coming into this race,” Cox said of Arklow. “It's easy to say it now, but we had a lot of confidence that he would move forward with the blinkers. He likes it down here and obviously when it started raining it gave us even more confidence. He definitely likes a little juice in the ground, and he responded well.

“Florent did a good job getting him involved. That has a lot to do with this horse, how he runs, his involvement early on in a race.”

While Arklow was rated fifth, then fourth, as Changi took the field through the opening half mile in :50.27, Zulu Alpha was well back and had just one foe beat in 10-horse field. Longshot Eons grabbed the lead heading down the hill but Arklow was perched three wide at that point, waiting for the signal from Geroux to do more.

“It was a great trip for him. He was closer to the lead than he's used too,” Geroux said. “First time with blinkers, at 6 years old, helped him and the ground also helped. From there I just nursed him around and he waited for my signal down the stretch. He was able to hold off those horses pretty easily.”

Arklow paid $13.60 as the third choice in the field of 10 older horses. He became only the third two-time winner of the stakes, joining back-to-back winners Rochester (2002-2003) and Da Big Hoss (2015-16).

“Donegal Racing is very appreciative of Mr. (Brad) Kelley and Calumet Farm for sponsoring this race,” said Donegal president Jerry Crawford. “Donegal has won it two of the last three years and finished second the third time. We're grateful for Kentucky Downs and for the Calumet folks. Obviously, Arklow loves it there. He loves going that far. I think the addition of blinkers made a huge difference. He was able to lay closer to the pace and nobody is going to get past him once he has the lead in the stretch. We're very excited.”

At the top the stretch, Arklow took command for himself and turned back a threat from eventual runner-up Red Knight. Beaten favorite Zulu Alpha could only get up for show money, a length behind Red Knight.

“Everything worked out. We had a nice clean trip,” said Tyler Gaffalione, jockey Zulu Alpha. “The only thing I would say is that maybe the ground was getting away from him down the stretch. He was really digging in, trying to go get that horse, but it was just breaking away from him. Might be a little soft out there for him. It was a great performance. He tried hard the whole way. He's all class and hopefully we'll rebound in the Breeders' Cup (Turf).”

The final time for the distance over a course rated soft was 2:28.66.

In addition to improving his record to seven wins from 29 starts with earnings of $2,466,116, Arklow continued a hot streak for Cox and Geroux as the two paired up to capture the Kentucky Oaks on September 4 with Shedaresthedevil at Churchill Downs after winning the Grade 1 La Troienne Stakes on the undercard with champion Monomoy Girl.

“Honestly I really trained on him pretty strong for this race, zeroed in on this race,” Cox said of Arklow. “He had a fantastic work a couple of weeks back at Churchill on the turf. He had a huge gallop out that day. He'd been touting himself a lot going into this.

“It's great. It's been a busy week and a half,” Cox added. “Just trying to build off it, get bigger and better horses all the time. Looking to pick off races like this is what it's all about.”

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Regal Glory Runs Down Mitchell Road In Ladies Turf Stakes At Kentucky Downs

For the first time in his future Hall of Fame career, trainer Chad Brown has made it a point to have a significant presence at the boutique Kentucky Downs meet in Franklin, Ky. As is often the case when the Mechanicville, N.Y., native shows up on the scene, he sent out one of his turf distaffers to claim some lucrative spoils as Regal Glory reeled in pacesetter Mitchell Road in deep stretch to take the Grade 3, $500,000 English Channel Ladies Turf Stakes by a neck on Saturday.

In giving her trainer his first graded-stakes triumph at the all-turf meet, Regal Glory also snapped a three-race losing and notched her third career graded victory. Owned and bred by Paul Pompa Jr. , the 4-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom had been beaten by Grade 1-winning stablemates in each of her last three races heading into her trip to Kentucky Downs having run sixth behind Cambier Parc in the 2019 Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes, second to Newspaperofrecord in the Grade 3 Intercontinental Stakes at Belmont Park on June 6, and fourth behind that same barn mate in the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes on June 27.

Without a wildly-accomplished, friendly rival in the gate with her this time around, Regal Glory was able to get herself back on the winning side of the equation. Under handling from jockey Jose Ortiz, the 7-5 race favorite tracked Mitchell Road in second around the European style turf course through fractions of :23.42 and :47.19 over yielding going.

“She handled the course really well. I knew she could handle the soft turf, since she's already won on it twice, so I was very confident going into the race,” Ortiz said of his mount. “Chad is doing fantastic here in his first year and his horses are doing fantastic too. I'm glad he came here. He's one of the best trainers in the nation, so why not be here. He's doing a tremendous job with (assistant) Whit (Beckman) and the team. She was much the best today and the only that could screw that up was me. I put her into a winning position and she responded well.”

Mitchell Road was still stubbornly holding onto her lead as she came off the turn into the lane, but Regal Glory was looming at her throat-latch in the final three-sixteenths of a mile before getting by late to hit the wire in 1:34.34 for the one-mile test over the rain-soaked course.

“That filly (Mitchell Road) on the front end gets tough. That was definitely a hard-fought stretch victory when it looked like our filly was poised to just take them easily,” said Whit Beckman, who oversees Brown's new Kentucky division based at Churchill Downs. “But you've got to give it to Mitchell Road. She ran a heck of a race.

“She was definitely getting a little class relief coming down here, but it's always an X factor with the set-up and everything. She ran a tremendous race. I mean she looked like the winner every step of the way to me.”

Mitchell Road held for second by 1 1/2 lengths over another Brown-trained runner, Tapit Today.

“She came out and ran and was right there,” said Luis Saez, jockey of Mitchell Road. “When we came to the stretch, I thought we were going to beat the winner, but she was too tough and we just got beat.”

Bred in Kentucky out of the More than Ready mare Mary's Follies, Regal Glory improved her record to six wins from 11 career starts with $773,884 in earnings. The chestnut mare previously annexed the Grade 3 Lake George and Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes, both at Saratoga Race Course, last summer.

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Got Stormy Returns to Winning Ways in KYD Ladies Turf Sprint

After winning two Grade Is last year, Got Stormy had a hard time finding the wire first this season, but finally returned to the winner’s circle Saturday at Kentucky Downs. Rushing up to contest the pace in the initial strides, the heavy favorite was shuffled back to fifth through a :22.54 opening quarter and :46.27 half-mile. Searching for running room turning for home, the chestnut swung out four wide in the lane and charged clear in the final sixteenth for an authoritative victory.

“We always felt that way [that she’d sprint], but there’s never been an opportunity,” winning trainer Mark Casse said. “For $500,000, we figured this would be a good time to do it. I’ve always said she’d handle soft going; it just limits how far she can run. So for her to get a mile, she needs it extremely, extremely hard. And she hasn’t gotten that once this year. So the bit of the give in the ground was a little worrisome, but it kind of played to her favor.”

As for what’s next, Casse said, “I’ll talk to Gary [Barber], but we’ll probably come back and run her 5 1/2 [furlongs] in the [GI] Breeders’ Cup [Turf Sprint at Keeneland]. I think she’ll like that. [Tyler Gaffalione] said he could have been on the lead, no problem.”

Got Stormy captured the GI Fourstardave H. last term and was a close second in the GI Woodbine Mile next out in September before filling the same spot behind subsequent champion Uni (GB) (More Than Ready) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile in November. Returning to winning ways when sent west for the GI Matriarch S. Dec. 1, she was fourth in the GIII Endeavour S. at Tampa Feb. 8 and missed by a neck next out in Santa Anita’s GI Frank E. Kilroe S. Mar. 7. The 5-year-old was fourth in both the June 3 GIII Beaugay S. at Belmont and filled the same spot against the boys in that venue’s GIII Poker S. July 4. Got Stormy entered this test off a second to Halladay (War Front) in this term’s Fourstardave Aug. 22.

Pedigree Notes:

The winner’s dam Super Phoebe is a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Smooth Air (Smooth Jazz) and GSW Overdriven (Tale of the Cat). The 16-year-old mare is also responsible for the unraced juvenile colt Got Curly (Super Saver); a yearling colt by Mohaymen; and a 2020 colt by Bolt d’Oro. She was bred back to Uncle Mo.

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
KENTUCKY DOWNS LADIES SPRINT S.-GIII, $498,000, Kentucky Downs, 9-12, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2fT, 1:15.41, sf.
1–GOT STORMY, 121, m, 5, by Get Stormy
1st Dam: Super Phoebe, by Malabar Gold

2nd Dam: Air France, by French Deputy
3rd Dam: Twin Propeller, by Known Fact
($23,000 Ylg ’16 KEESEP; $45,000 2yo ’17 EASMAY). O-Gary
Barber; B-Mt Joy Stables, Pope McLean, Marc McLean & Pope
McLean Jr (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $288,300.
Lifetime Record: MGISW, 24-9-5-3, $1,901,378. *1/2 to Sky
Gold (Successful Appeal), SP, $151,020. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Winning Envelope, 121, f, 4, More Than Ready–Granby Girl,
by Badge of Silver. ($3,000 2yo ’18 KEEJAN). O-Lothenbach
Stables Inc. (Bob Lothenbach); B-Ramspring Farm (KY); T-Chris
M Block. $93,000.
3–Into Mystic, 123, f, 4, Into Mischief–Loveofalifetime, by
Medaglia d’Oro. ($650,000 2yo ’18 OBSAPR). O-George Chris
Coleman & Brad King; B-Runnymede Farm Inc & Catesby W
Clay Investment 2 LLC (KY); T-Brendan P Walsh. $46,500.
Margins: 3 1/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 1.90, 14.20, 6.10.
Also Ran: Lady Lawyer, Surrender Now, Quebec, Change of Control, Dixieincandyland, Mentality, Bohemian Bourbon, Cariba, I’llhandalthecash. Scratched: Intuicao (Brz), Jakarta, Kimari. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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