Nothing improbable about Improbable in Street Sense

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fittingly on a Breeders’ Cup Day emphasizing 2-year-olds and dubbed Future Stars Friday, young stakes talent will be displayed even before the Breeders’ Cup officially begins, when the $100,000 Street Sense is run at Churchill Downs.

Carded as the fourth race, preceding the first of five Breeders’ Cup races for juveniles, the one-mile Street Sense drew a field of nine, including Improbable, one of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s most promising 2-year-olds, as well as Trophy Chaser, the fifth-place finisher in the Oct. 6 Champagne at Belmont Park.

Improbable, a 5-2 shot on the morning line, could well be a shorter price by post time. Although hard pressed to win his only start by a neck Sept. 29 at Santa Anita, he earned the top last-race Beyer Speed Figure in the Street Sense, an 85, which is sure to grab the attention of horseplayers.

That is not Improbable’s only noteworthy attribute. Fast workouts, before and since his debut, suggest he is a colt of high quality, and he races for the same principals as Triple Crown winner Justify. Besides Baffert, those connections include owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing.

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A son of City Zip purchased for $200,000 last September at Keeneland, Improbable stretches out from six furlongs for the Street Sense, a race that often serves as a prep to the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club on the closing weekend of the Churchill Downs fall meet. Drayden Van Dyke rides.

The Street Sense represents an alternative spot for Trophy Chaser, whom owner-trainer Juan Carlos Avila had pre-entered in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile following the colt’s fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont. Trophy Chaser was 7-2 in the Champagne off a 15 3/4-length, 96-Beyer maiden score at Gulfstream over a sloppy track Aug. 25.

But after Trophy Chaser put in a couple of slow five-furlong drills at Churchill Downs under Javier Castellano, Avila decided not to run Trophy Chaser in the Juvenile and opted for more conservative placement.

“I prefer this race because Javier Castellano told me he was not good on this track,” Avila said.

Although Trophy Chaser may not have cared for the Churchill Downs track in workouts Oct. 21 and Oct. 28, he may encounter a different type of Churchill surface Friday. Heavy rain is forecasted for the Louisville area from Wednesday into late Thursday evening, potentially leaving a drying-out surface by post time of 2:23 p.m. Eastern on Friday.

Luis Reyes, who rode Trophy Chaser in his maiden score, has the mount.

Completing the lineup are Distant Shore, Unionizer, Moonster, Reward the Miracle, Manny Wah, Louder Than Bombs, and Marquee Price.