Improbable

Improbable launched his career with a maiden victory in late September, followed by an impressive 7 1/4-length score in the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs on Breeders' Cup Friday.

He followed that blowout win up with another dominant score, winning the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity by five lengths on Dec. 8 and picking up 10 qualifying points for the 2019 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.

Improbable did not start again until March 16, 2019, making his 3-year-old debut in the first division of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Despite a wide trip throughout, Improbable seized command in the stretch and looked destined for the winner's circle, but Long Range Toddy collared him in the closing strides of the 1 1/16-mile race. Improbable returned to Oaklawn for the Arkansas Derby on April 13. In his final Kentucky Derby prep race, Improbable drew alongside Omaha Beach on the final turn as the duo separated from the rest of the field, but he could not get past his game opponent and settled for second. The 40 points, however, punched his Kentucky Derby ticket.

Improbable was sent off as the betting favorite in the Derby after Omaha Beach was scratched the week of the race and he didn't embarrass himself, making a determined run in the stretch to cross the wire in fifth. He was elevated to a fourth-place finish when Maximum Security was disqualified from the win.

Improbable returned for the May 18 Preakness Stakes and again was the post-time favorite at 5-2 odds. He acted up in the starting gate shortly before the race began and stalked the pace through the far turn, but had no punch in the stretch and finished sixth.

After a three-month layoff, Improbable won the Shared Belief Stakes by 2 3/4 lengths Aug. 25 at Del Mar. He subsequently finished fourth, beaten by 1 1/4 lengths, in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby before an unplaced finish in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in his final start as a 3-year-old.

Improbable made his 4-year-old bow in the Oaklawn Mile Stakes April 11 and finished second by three-quarters of a length. He regained his elite form in his second start of 2020 when he pulled away to a dominating 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes June 6 at Santa Anita Park and followed with a similarly impressive two-length score in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes Aug. 1 at Saratoga.

Making his final prep for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in the Sept. 26 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita Park, Improbable stated his case as a top contender for the $6 million race with a tour de force. Reserved at the back of the five-horse field, Improbable surged into contention with a sweeping bid on the final turn, powered past highly regarded stablemate Maximum Security and pacesetter Take the One O One, and drove clear to a dominant win to earn an expenses-paid berth in the Classic.

Improbable made a bold move on the final turn in the Nov. 7 Classic at Keeneland, but he could not catch stablemate Authentic and settled for second best. He finished the year with three wins and two seconds in five starts and over $1.8 million in earnings, and received the 2020 Eclipse Award as champion older dirt male.

The flashy chestnut colt is a son of City Zip who was purchased for $200,000 as a yearling. He's owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing, a similar ownership group to that of Triple Crown winner Justify.