Lagynos is raising his game and his profile in the older male turf division. Sitting a super trip under a confident Jose Ortiz, Lagynos tipped out three wide in the stretch and ran by pace-prompting Tom’s Magic to win the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic by one length at Fair Grounds on Saturday. Tom’s Magic finished second by the same margin over two-time Grade 1 winner Program Trading. The win was the second straight at the meet for Laygnos, a 5-year-old son of Kantharos who earlier this meet won the Grade 3 Fair Grounds Stakes, and his seventh win from 25 starts. The first-place purse of $180,000 helped push Lagynos’ career earnings to $2,016,166. “Extremely proud of Lagynos,” trainer Steve Asmussen said in a post-race interview aired on the Fair Grounds simulcast. “He’s a colt that as a 3-year-old ran in a lot of races, a lot of tough-luck trips, never gave up. But I do believe with his last two wins, he’s found a new level of confidence. He settled, he handled so nice for Jose and when he asked him to run he ran through the wire.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Lagynos, owned by Prince Sultan Bid Mishal Al Saud, covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.17 (99 Beyer Speed Figure) over a firm turf course and returned $5.20 as the slight favorite over Program Trading. The win was the fifth on the card and second in a stakes for Ortiz, who still had four more rides on the card. It was the third victory on the card for Asmussen. Lagynos got a sweet trip under Ortiz as he settled into third, inside of Program Trading, behind Idratherbeblessed, who was pressed by Tom’s Magic through a half-mile in 48.33 seconds. Ortiz sat chilly even while losing a couple of positions as Program Trading and Chasing the Crown made a move around the far turn. Ortiz put Lagynos in the three-path turning for home and he was able to easily overtake Tom’s Magic in deep stretch for the victory. “We had a great trip,” Ortiz said. “I broke good, two horses went to the lead, I sat off them and when I asked him to go he was there for me. This is a nice. He does everything right. He always shows up, that’s what we love about him, even when he gets beat he always shows up.” Lately, he hasn’t been getting beat. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.