Morimoto, a four-year-old bay colt bred by Casual Trick out of the Burning brand mare Luckybegood, won his first race of the season on Sunday, December 17, 2023 with an easy win in the $1.25-million Charles Hussey OD Trophy.

Morimoto, who returned to competitive racing on September 2 after a one-year layoff, was expected to visit the winners’ enclosure at least once from his previous four starts. However, the Anthony Nunes trainee had failed to light any spark, finishing sixth, third, and fourth twice.

This win by Morimoto could be the start of something new as the fleet-footed runner won the Restricted Overnight Allowance contest for three-year-olds and upward over five furlongs (1,000m) straight by a length and quarter going away from rivals. Morimoto came home in a time of 59.0 (23.0 x 45.4).

Morimoto, ridden by Raddesh Roman, battled Snowflakes (Samantha Fletcher), Ultimate Machine (Shavon Townsend), and KP Choice (Andrew Wright) for the early lead. After the pack passed the fake rails and onto the main track for the last two furlongs (400m) of the race, Morimoto emerged as the lone leader and comfortably won at the wire. Snowflakes came in second, while The Good Witch (Ramon Nepare) came in third.