Magnitude punches ticket to Dubai with Razorback romp

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Magnitude on Saturday set himself up for a start in the $12 million Dubai World Cup when he launched his 4-year-old season with a cruising, 3 3/4-length win in the Grade 3, $500,000 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn Park.

He covered 1 1/16 miles on a fast track in a swift 1:42.10. It was a sunny afternoon in the 70s, and the race was held in front an estimated crowd of 32,500 that spilled over from the apron into the infield.

“That was very exciting,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Magnitude for Winchell Thoroughbreds. “The horse has been training phenomenal and I thought that he ran extremely well. And, obviously, we are wanting, hoping, and expecting a huge 4-year-old year with him.”

Magnitude ($3.60) broke well and settled just off pacesetter Nu What’s New, tracking that one through fractions of 23.68 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, 47.38 for the half-mile, and 1:11.28 for six furlongs. Magnitude put a head in front past the quarter pole and was in full command by the eighth pole under jockey Jose Ortiz.

Nu What’s New held second, while it was another 3 1/4 lengths back to Gould’s Gold in third.

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The Razorback was “Plan B” for Magnitude, according to Asmussen. He had intended to run the horse in last month’s Saudi Cup after he wrapped his 3-year-old campaign with a win in the Clark at Churchill Downs. However, a fever led to a change in plans and Magnitude followed a path Asmussen used with Gun Runner, when the eventual Hall of Famer won the 2017 Razorback ahead of a runner-up finish to Arrogate in the Dubai World Cup.

Magnitude met older horses for the first time in the Clark and has continued to progress from 3 to 4.

“He’s bigger and he weighs more and he’s working faster, whatever that adds up to,” said Asmussen. "1:42 flat.”

Magnitude’s winning Razorback time was one of the race's fastest in the last 30 years. The only horses to run quicker in the Razorback during the last three decades were Gun Runner in 1:40.97, Kentucky Derby winner Lil E. Tee in 1:41.40 in 1993, and Alexander Helios, a half-brother to Preakness winner Rombauer, in 1:41.88 in 2025. The Razorback had its first running in 1960 and some years it was run at different distances.

Magnitude, a son of Not This Time, was the 123-pound highweight Saturday. He earned $292,500 for his fourth stakes win, which lifted his career earnings past $1.5 million.

Magnitude shipped in from Fair Grounds for the Razorback and will return to New Orleans, said Asmussen. From there, plans will be made for a trip to Meydan Racecourse for the Dubai World Cup on March 28. Mystic Guide won both the Razorback and the Dubai World Cup in 2021.

Handle on the 11-race card from all sources Saturday was $9.7 million, according to figures provided by Oaklawn.

Rebel Day is Sunday, and the infield is again scheduled to be open. There is a $8,497.90 carryover in the pick six. First post for the 12-race card that also includes the Honeybee is 12 p.m. Central.

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