Smooth Trip for Imprimis Leads to Janus Victory

Breeze Easy's Imprimis made a triumphant return to action at Gulfstream Park Jan. 1, following up a troubled trip in the Nov. 7 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) with a gutsy victory over fellow Turf Sprint participant Extravagant Kid in the $75,000 Janus Stakes.

The Janus, a five-furlong dash on grass 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 Stakes and the $75,000 Abundantia Stakes. Imprimis' jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. also rode Gulf Coast to victory in the Cash Run and Hear My Prayer to take the Abundantia to finish the 11-race card with five victories.

Imprimis ($3.60) improved to 5-for-5 over the Gulfstream Park turf course, providing a measure of comfort for the disappointment his trainer Joseph Orseno felt following the Turf Sprint at Keeneland when he was 13th after being checked in mid-stretch.

Imprimis 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 runner-up Extravagant Kid, who was beaten by only a length while finishing fourth in the 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."

Pacesetter The Critical Way, ridden by Paco Lopez, held gamely to be third, a head behind the runner-up.

The multiple graded stakes-winning Imprimis ran five furlongs on firm turf in :54.82 seconds, which followed The Critical Way setting fractions of :21.09 and :43.22

"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 Stakes (G3T) 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," Orseno said.

Bred in Florida by Craig Wheeler, Imprimis notched his sixth career stakes win, the most prestigious of them coming in the Shakertown Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland in 2019. He is one of two black-type runners for the Put It Back mare Shoppers Return, and easily her leading money earner with a bankroll of $805,983.