David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds, doesn't have a solid explanation for Magnitude's performance in the Aug. 23 Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course, a third-place finish in a field of five and more than 20 lengths behind Sovereignty.
"Clearly disappointing. We expected him to represent himself a little better than that," Fiske said. "But after talking to (jockey) Ben Curtis after the race, he said the horse just didn't feel like he was getting a hold of the track like he had in his two previous races, for whatever reason. It's hard to say, 'We'll just draw a line through a million-dollar (plus) grade 1.' Hopefully he can regroup and catch a track that he likes on Saturday."
Magnitude, 6-1 on the morning line for $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) Sept. 20 at Parx Racing, will look to revert to the form he showed before and after an injury suffered in February. A chip in his ankle was discovered a few days after a 9 3/4-length win in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots that temporarily catapulted him to the upper tier of Kentucky Derby (G1) contenders.
Following surgery by famed equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage, Magnitude missed three months before returning to the work tab for trainer Steve Asmussen, who gave the son of Not This Time seven timed workouts before entering him in the Iowa Derby July 5 at Prairie Meadows.
Magnitude, a $450,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase in 2023 and the only winning foal out of the Bernardini mare Rockadelic, delivered another tour de force, winning by 9 1/4 lengths and prompting the connections to take a big swing in the 1 1/4-mile Travers. In the Travers, Magnitude broke first and led until midway around the far turn, before getting passed by Bracket Buster and Sovereignty and fading badly.
"Given his breeding, the distance shouldn't have been a problem," Fiske said, "but trying to make assumptions off breeding is a pretty theoretical thing. He's capable of going that distance. Some of his previous races, especially the Risen Star, it looked like he could have run around the track again."
The Travers didn't take much out of the horse.
"He came back and he didn't even seem like he ran," Fiske said. "When he came back to be unsaddled, he looked like a dressage horse, and his ears were up. It looked like he could go do that again, which I'm sure he could have because he didn't really run that fast."
Magnitude, who has four wins in nine starts with $746,165 in earnings, has done his best work on the lead, so look for him to be forwardly placed in the Pennsylvania Derby, and he likely won't be the only one.
"It appears there are a lot of horses that like to run up close to the pace," Fiske said. "Whether he can put any distance on those guys, I don't know. I don't think he minds having company. He'll just cruise along and do his thing. I would expect to see him on or near the lead. Clearly, there are some good horses on the outside of him. I'm glad that he drew where he did (post 3). We'll see how the break goes, and hopefully, he can get it done."
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
