SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In several of his losses,  Improbable was his own worst enemy in the starting gate. In Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Stakes, Improbable was the beneficiary of someone else’s misfortune at the break. While race favorite Tom’s d’Etat stumbled at the start, Improbable actually got away clean. After stalking the pedestrian pace of longshot Mr. Buff for six furlongs, Improbable, under Irad Ortiz Jr., took over nearing the top of the stretch and bounded clear to a two-length victory in the Whitney at Saratoga. By My Standards, a well-beaten second to Tom’s d’Etat in the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs in June, finished second by a half-length over Tom’s d’Etat. It was a 2 1/2 lengths to Code of Honor, who was 10 1/4 lengths clear of Mr. Buff. The victory gave trainer Bob Baffert his second straight victory in the Whitney. He won it last year with McKinzie. It also came about 12 minutes after Baffert won the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar with Thousand Words, upsetting heavily favored Honor A. P. Coincidentally, Improbable won last year’s Shared Belief. :: Play Saratoga with DRF! Visit our Saratoga shop for DRF PPs, Picks and Clocker Reports: The victory also earned Improbable a fees-paid berth into the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7. As a 3-year-old, Improbable cost himself potential better placings in races such as the Arkansas Derby, Preakness, and Pennsylvania Derby. On Saturday, he reared up once in the gate and acted-up a second time. But when the gates opened, he broke fine. “They did a good job in the gate,” said Ortiz, noting that the assistant starter “stayed with the horse. He was bad, he fixed it. Thank God it worked out good. He broke really good, he had a beautiful trip.” Ortiz had Improbable within a length of Mr. Buff through a half-mile in 49.74 seconds and six furlongs in 1:13.36. Ortiz, sensing the slow pace, said he let Improbable move a little early. He had the lead by the top of the stretch. With five whacks of Ortiz’s left-handed whip from the quarter pole to the eighth pole and six more from above the sixteenth pole to the wire, Improbable continued on to the wire. Improbable, a son of City Zip owned by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.65 and returned $8.50 as the 3-1 third choice. “He was really comfortable. By the backside he felt a little pressure and on his own he started to pick it up, so I let him do his thing because we were going a little slow, so I let him move a little early,” Ortiz said. “He was moving beautifully by the turn, the quarter pole, and turning for home I asked him and he responded really well.” Baffert, who watched the race on the Del Mar infield board, said Improbable - the beaten 2019 Kentucky Derby favorite - has grown up as a 4-year-old. After finishing second to Tom’s d’Etat in the Oaklawn Mile in May, Improbable won the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup on June 6. “I’ve seen a big change in him,” Baffert said. “We called him Little Justify last year. He’s been training really well, working really well here. He was a kid. He’s a man now. The distance helps.” Improbable’s win came a week after Maximum Security won the San Diego for Baffert. Maximum Security is being pointed to the Pacific Classic on Aug. 22. Plans for Improbable’s next start are to be determined. Meanwhile, Tom’s d’Etat had his four-race winning streak snapped, in large part due to his stumbling start. While he was only five lengths back under Joel Rosario, the pace was extremely slow and he could cut it only in half at the finish. “He was standing fine, he just missed it when they broke out of the gate,” Rosario said. “It changed my plan. Now I have to ride him from there and take my time. It seems like it’s a heavy track and hard to come from way back, but missing the break probably didn’t help.” Jose Ortiz, the rider of By My Standards, felt he had his horse in good position early, but the slow pace made it impossible to catch Improbable. “I knew we were going slow, I didn’t want to make a premature move,” Ortiz said. “I waited until the three-eighths pole to say go, my horse responded, but Improbable did too.” - additional reporting by Jay Privman