For the third occasion in four years the China Horse Club’s U.S. based racing operation has celebrated success at the prestigious Eclipse Awards. Improbable, who was nominated as the Eclipse Award Champion Two-Year-Old in 2018, was recognized as the best of his generation when crowned the 2020 Eclipse Champion Older Dirt Male. The strapping chestnut secured 218 of the possible 238 votes. His latest title comes just 24 hours after he was recognized as the world’s best dirt miler in the 2020 Longines World’s Best Horse Rankings.
The Eclipse Awards is an annual celebration that honours the best U.S. thoroughbred performances in a calendar year. Improbable strung three success G1 wins together in the Hollywood Gold Cup – Whitney Stakes – Awesome Again Stakes between June and September before an exceptional performance when finishing second in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic despite being caught wide throughout.
“It is a phenomenal achievement to have Improbable recognized as an Eclipse winner, it really is,” said Michael Wallace, Chief Operating Officer of the China Horse Club.
“You can never take honours of this stature for granted. They are truly special. This award is a wonderful reward for us and our partners WinStar Farm and SF Racing, for Bob Baffert and his team and for jockeys Drayden Van Dyke and Irad Ortiz Jr. This award recognizes the contribution of all of these participants and, of course, it recognizes the excellence of Improbable.”
Improbable’s Eclipse Award is the third enjoyed by China Horse Club and its racing partners following on from the successes of Justify (2018) and Abel Tasman (2017). Justify dominated the 2018 Eclipse Awards. The undefeated champion racehorse was anointed the Eclipse Horse of the Year and Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Male in his only season of racing. Abel Tasman was recognized as the Eclipse Outstanding Three-Year-Old after a season of three G1 triumphs including the Kentucky Oaks.
China Horse Club also extends its congratulations to WinStar Farm on winning the 2020 Eclipse Outstanding Breeder Award. It is the third Eclipse Award for Kenny Troutt and his operation and his second as Outstanding Breeder.
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