Improbable
Win Star Farm, China Horse Club and Starlight Racing’s Preakness Stakes contender Improbable was actually the 4-1 post-time favorite in the Kentucky Derby and crossed the wire a respectable fifth, just more than three lengths back, but his solid performance seems to have been lost in the controversy surrounding the disqualification of Maximum Security and elevation of Country House. No worse for wear, the son of City Zip will head to Baltimore looking to turn the tables and earn a classic win.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who will tighten the girth on Improbable, seeks a record-setting eighth Preakness so it may say a lot about how he thinks his charge will do at Old Hilltop. The flashy chestnut, who bears a striking resemblance to last year’s Preakness winner Justify, will benefit from Baffert’s go-to jockey Mike Smith, who will be aboard for the first time.
“I’m extremely excited to get back there, especially to ride this colt,” Smith said. “I still think there’s talent there that we haven’t seen. To be back riding in this year’s Preakness, with Bob, WinStar, all the connections, back together again, it kinda means a little more. We’ll see if we can pull it off, he’s definitely got the ability to do so.
“I certainly believe he has better races in him and the fact that Bob’s running him back gives me confidence, because he’s not running the other two (Game Winner and Roadster). So, this horse must have come out of the race in really good shape. And I’m sure that’s why he’s running, he should have a really good foundation now and be really, really ready for a race like this.”
Improbable, who won last year’s Los Alamitos Futurity (GI) is currently the 5-2 early favorite.
Updated May 15, 2019 15:00 EST .
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
