Magnitude set to battle older horses in Clark

While a minor illness cost division leader Sovereignty a chance to face older rivals in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, his fellow 3-year-olds hardly covered themselves in Classic glory. Journalism, the Preakness winner, finished fourth, while Baeza, the Pennsylvania Derby winner, was sixth. Nevada Beach, hero of the Goodwood Stakes, finished seventh.

That’s not to say the sophomore set won’t eventually catch up to their elders, and Magnitude will get his chance against older rivals Nov. 28 at Churchill in the Grade 2, $600,000 Clark Stakes.

Magnitude on the Beyer Speed Figure scale has run as fast as any member of his generation sans Sovereignty, posting a 108 Beyer way back in February when he won the Risen Star Stakes. The colt exited that race with an injury, got a 104 Beyer making a winning comeback in the Iowa Derby, ran flat in the Travers Stakes, and, most recently, fought through a tough trip to finish second behind Baeza in the Pennsylvania Derby, earning a 102 Beyer.

It wasn’t until his seventh start, the Risen Star, that Magnitude found himself, and the colt, by Not This Time, could turn into a very good 4-year-old. His trainer, Steve Asmussen, said Magnitude still has growing up to do.

“He’s done really well, and I think the time will help him even more,” Asmussen said. “I thought his last race was very good. He showed his ability under circumstances that weren’t similar to what he’s had in the past.”

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Asmussen also has a pair of 2-year-old stakes horses to start during closing week of the Churchill meet: Spice Runner, undone by a stumbling start in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, runs in the Kentucky Jockey Club, and Stradale, a sharp Oct. 26 maiden winner, goes in the 6 1/2-furlong Ed Brown.

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