Magnitude Has First Breeze Since Whitney

Sept. 5 could not have gone any better at Saratoga Race Course for Steve Asmussen. The Hall of Famer saddled four horses, three of them going on to win—one in a grade 1—and the fourth finishing second to his stablemate. Then, on Sept. 6, Asmussen woke up and went into the track to work one of the top-ranked horses in the world. "It is very special, very special," Asmussen said of the weekend. That top horse on the worktab Sunday morning was Winchell Thoroughbreds' Magnitude. Winner of the Dubai World Cup (G1) and Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) earlier in the year, the son of Not This Time most recently put in a head-scratchingly dull effort in the Aug. 8 Whitney Stakes (G1). He finished sixth, 15 1/4 lengths behind Sovereignty, after breaking from the rail with a slight stumble and failing to make the lead. Following that race, Asmussen said he planned to train Magnitude up to the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) Oct. 31 at Keeneland instead of giving him another prep. Trying to replicate the training schedule that proved successful between Dubai and the Foster, Asmussen let Magnitude relax in his training over the last month. "We just lightened up, jogged him for a while," Asmussen said of Magnitude's recent schedule. "Gave him some easy days, let him decompress a little bit. … I love how he ran in the Stephen Foster doing that, and we're trying to create the same circumstances. We're just trying to follow the same road map that was successful for him last time." That made Sunday morning's work highly anticipated as Magnitude was let loose for the first time since the Whitney, going an easy half-mile in :51 3/5 over Saratoga's Oklahoma Training Track. Asmussen said he plans to work twice more at Saratoga before shipping straight to Keeneland toward the end of September. Asmussen is hopeful the change of scenery will also bring out the Magnitude who had raced his way into a leading role for Horse of the Year honors before the Whitney. With no other obvious excuses emerging in the last month, he noted that his other poor career performance—beaten 20 3/4 lengths when third in the 2025 Travers Stakes (G1)—also occurred at Saratoga. The good news is, the Breeders' Cup will not be at Saratoga. The better news is that in all three editions of the Classic held at Keeneland, being the pacesetter or right with the pacesetter early has been the winning position. That should bode well for Magnitude, especially given his ability to run well off a layoff. "I think we're all aware of the style a horse has that has success at Keeneland, and you can see a scenario in which that is extremely favorable to Magnitude," Asmussen said. "But no doubt, with the level of competition, he has to be at his best to do it. … How fast he is off of a layoff is what I think will be required." Magnitude won't be the only horse of Asmussen's currently at Saratoga on that trip to Keeneland. He will be joined by Saturday's two juvenile winners from the barn: Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Summer Starlet and debut winner Pharocity. Facing a solid group of 2-year-old fillies Saturday, Summer Starlet was absolutely dominant, winning by 4 3/4 lengths over stakes winner Harper's Corner with 12 lengths between the winner and third place. The final time of 1:22.72 was the fourth-fastest Spinaway since the race was changed to 7 furlongs in 1994, and Asmussen has been the trainer of three of those top four. The Hall of Famer knows a good horse when he sees one, and he was still singing praises at the barn Sunday for the City of Light filly owned by BC Stables, Wattswood Stables, Bob Albritton, Jay Graham, and David Baggett. "It's quite obvious the filly is special," Asmussen said. Asmussen loved the way she looked the following morning and plans to ship her to Keeneland with Magnitude. There she will likely start in the $650,000 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) Oct. 3 as a prep for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Oct. 30. Both races will be contested at 1 1/16 miles, which does not seem like a concern based on the improvement she showed in the opening stages Saturday. In her debut, she tallied from next-to-last to win by 6 1/2 lengths. On Saturday, she stalked just off the leaders before kicking away. "I was surprised and extremely pleased with how handy she was," Asmussen said of the Spinaway. "I thought in her maiden race she broke well, but it took her a bit to get on her feet. Yesterday she broke sharp and was in hand and looked unbelievably comfortable in the middle. I think that bodes extremely well to a two-turn race. Being handy at Keeneland is where we feel we want to be to have success there. I feel really good about her." Pharocity, a homebred son of American Pharoah for Scott and Evan Dilworth and Randy Andrews, impressed when using his early speed to take a maiden race by 5 3/4 lengths. He will also be heading to Keeneland. "He had worked like he was that horse. It was good to see," Asmussen said. "He's another one that I think the further we go, the better he'll be. He's a nice long-gaited horse."