Gun Runner won the Razorback en route to a trip to the Middle East in the Dubai World Cup (G1), where the colt finished second, before scoring five consecutive victories to conclude his racing career. Gun Runner was honored as the 2017 Horse of the Year and would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame, where his trainer is also honored.
Flash forward and Asmussen has a runner who finished in exactly those positions in the aforementioned races: Size . The colt even races for Winchell Thoroughbreds, who co-owned Gun Runner with Three Chimneys Farm, where he now stands at stud. Fittingly, Magnitude began its season for four-year-olds on February 28 Oaklawn Park just like Gun Runner did – with a resounding victory in the $500,000 Razorback Handicap.
Second favorite and class increase follow Now what’s new through splits of :23.68, :47.38 and 1:11.28 in the 1 1/16-mile dirt race, Magnitude and jockey Jose Ortiz seemed to always have the leader at their mercy. When Ortiz released him during the stretch, the Not this time colt pulled away to score by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:42.10. Ortiz only hit Magnitude ($3.60) once with his riding crop, choosing instead to cheer him on in encouragement.
“He’s been getting really good since last year in the Clark,” Ortiz said on horseback in a post-race interview on Fox Sports. “He showed developmentally that he can score a little bit. And I think that’s a huge advantage for us.”
Magnitude was not flawless. He traded his lead on the track, although no rival came close to taking advantage of this apparent loss of focus. He carried a heavy weight of 123 pounds and faced the opponent at 3-9 pounds.
“The horse always had a lot of talent, but I think today was his best performance,” Asmussen said.
North America’s winningest trainer took his third victory in the race. Before Gun Runner and Magnitude, he captured the Razorback in 2011 with It happened again .
For Magnitude, the Razorback serves as an intended preparation for the Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 28 in the United Arab Emirates. It remains to be seen whether the armed conflict in Iran, which began on Saturday, will affect travel to the Middle East in the coming weeks.
Now What’s New, making his stakes debut, finished a clear second ahead Gould’s gold in third place. Sandman, now winless in six starts since winning the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn last spring, finished last of the six.
Magnitude improves to 6-2-1 in 12 starts with earnings of $1,584,365. Bred in Kentucky by Ron Stolich from the Bernardini mare Rockadelic he was a $450,000 purchase by Winchell Thoroughbreds from the Gainesway consignment for the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Magnitude is the fifth group stakes winner this year for Not This Time, which represents $250,000 at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky.
#Magnitude #Mirrors #Gun #Runner #Razorback