Magnitude Will Miss Saudi Cup With Illness

Multiple graded stakes winner Magnitude will not travel to Saudi Arabia to participate in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) Feb. 14 after developing an illness. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen told Daily Racing Form Feb. 1 that the 4-year-old son of Not This Time spiked a fever and would not ship from Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in Louisiana to South Florida, where a flight to Saudi Arabia is scheduled to depart Feb. 2. Magnitude closed out his 3-year-old campaign with a victory in the Clark Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in November, which followed a pair of grade 1 placings when third in the Travers Stakes (G1) and second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). Earlier in 2025, he won the Risen Star Stakes (G2).