Lost luggage woe but Royal Ascot rookie Orseno makes strong case for Imprimis

Royal Ascot newcomer Joe Orseno hopes to take Berkshire by storm next week, when victory for Imprimis in the King's Stand Stakes would give the New Jersey native the greatest moment of his training career, but his maiden voyage to Britain started on a downer after airport officials lost a bag containing a few crucial items.

"The flight was smooth but when we landed they lost one bag, and it happened to be the bag with my wife Michelle and daughter Aly's clothes and dresses in!" Orseno explained as he settled into a Swindon hotel on Tuesday following his flight from Miami.

"Hopefully that arrives. The car rental company didn't have my reservation either, so that took another hour, while the drive here was quite interesting.

"It's my first time in England, but I made my wife drive as she's smarter than me."

Imprimis (yellow silks): confidence in his camp is growingCredit: Wendy Wooley

Thankfully, Imprimis, a five-year-old coming off a career-best performance who is between 8-1 and 12-1 for the King's Stand, has had no problems since arriving at Brian Meehan's yard on the historic Manton estate in Wiltshire this month.

"Fortunately the horse has handled the trip fine and this weather is chilly for me coming from Florida, but he's welcomed it," Orseno added.

"From being in warmer weather to coming here and being able to graze on the grass you have here, he's really enjoying it and loves the all-weather track we're galloping him on."

Orseno, who trains the son of Broken Vow for Breeze Easy LLC, the partnership that won last year's Norfolk with Shang Shang Shang, feels it was an easy decision to head for the King's Stand rather than the Diamond Jubilee and is delighted to have secured the services of Frankie Dettori.

The 63-year-old, a close friend of ace royal meeting raider Wesley Ward, was also thrilled with the gelding's last outing, which concluded with a Grade 2 verdict over his pal's Bound For Nowhere, a live hope for the Diamond Jubilee.

"I believe it was his best run," he continued. "Not just because it was a Grade 2, but there were some legit horses in there besides Wesley's – and my horse had an unfortunate trip where he stumbled.

"At that point I was just hoping he'd get a piece of it and get in the race, but when he started running, he was determined and finished so well that it was an easy decision to make this trip.

"I have some connections that are close to Frankie in the States and Jay Glass, who gallops Imprimis, is Frankie's valet when he comes to Gulfstream, and one of Wesley's team is tight with Frankie too.

"We had Paco Lopez, but he got some days, so we reached out to Frankie and he watched the film and accepted the mount, which was a big plus for us. We're very excited."

Orseno has a Preakness win with Red Bullet in 2000 and a brace of Breeders' Cup successes on his CV but did not grow up around horses. He was bitten by the racing bug when working at Garden State Park in New Jersey in the Secretariat era, so decided not to follow his father into the construction business.

"I've been training for 42 years and we've had a great run – won quite a few big races – but I think if we win next week I'd have to put it on top of everything because it's international," he said.

"Not knowing what to expect and coming here, hopefully handling everything right, would be a big feather in my cap."

Despite arriving to drizzly conditions in Wiltshire, Orseno says any rain will not be a problem for either Imprimis or himself.

"He handles about any surface, and if it's soft we'll deal with it," said the trainer. "I'll get my top hat and tails today or tomorrow. I've never dressed like that, but you know what's good about it? Your weather!

"I'm cold right now, but at least it's not that Florida heat where being in a top hat and tails would be uncomfortable."

King's Stand entries

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