It feels like a lifetime ago, but less than five months have passed since Winchell Thoroughbreds' Magnitude held the consensus opinion as the top handicap horse in North America.
The 4-year-old colt earned his status the old-fashioned way by beating those who had conquered tests that define hierarchy, besting champion and reigning Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Forever Young in the Dubai World Cup (G1) in March, and then showing his heels to defending Horse of the Year Sovereignty in the Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) in June. He had barely put a foot wrong dating back to last November. Yet, one off day in the Whitney Stakes (G1) when he struggled home in sixth was enough to dim the son of Not This Time 's presence on the radar heading into the upcoming gathering for divisional supremacy Oct. 31.
In his final serious preparations for his expected run in this year's $7 million Classic, Magnitude served up a reminder of what his top form is capable of. On a day loaded with Breeders' Cup World Championships contenders putting in their last major bit of fine tuning, the Steve Asmussen trainee looked like a horse whose tank is on overflow, turning in a visually impressive solo 5-furlong move in 1:01 Oct. 24 at Keeneland.
Hitting the track at 7:30 a.m. ET, Magnitude worked a bit faster than Asmussen typically asks for in a final breeze, something his Hall of Fame trainer feels is a tell of how well the bay colt is moving over the Keeneland surface. Saturday's work came a week after Magnitude worked a bullet 5 furlongs in 1:00 3/5 and continued his trend of appearing like a horse wanting to do more.
"Every indication is that he handles the racetrack extremely well. The horse has settled in here beautifully," Asmussen said. "This was his third work over the track, and every one has looked very good. Love how he came out of it, love how he came back. Just a fast horse traveling really well right now.
"What he's doing, he's handling it extremely well. And that is very similar to the conversation I've had with (owner) Ron (Winchell) and (manager) David (Fiske) about how he felt and the confidence he gave us before he went to Dubai. He's giving us very similar feelings heading into the Classic."
Prior to his Whitney disappointment, Magnitude had won four straight graded stakes, highlighted by his front-running tour de force in the $12 million Dubai World Cup. The early speed that typically breaks his rival's hearts, however, was deadened during his Whitney run as he stumbled at the start and never got a hold of the Saratoga Race Course track.
His progression to that point had been mirroring that of Hall of Famer and fellow Asmussen trainee Gun Runner , who delivered a Breeders' Cup exclamation point when he captured the 2017 edition of the Classic. To that end, Asmussen has seen a similar pattern of incremental improvement in Magnitude during his 4-year-old season, and has worked to rebuild the colt's mindset following that uncharacteristic outing.
"For whatever reason, Magnitude is not the same racehorse (at Saratoga)," Asmussen said. "I think you assess (the loss) for what it is. We regrouped off of it and accelerated his training incrementally with a couple of moves at Saratoga before we moved directly here. I think we've been assisted by the weather we've had here. It's had a nice crispness in the mornings, and I think he's really responded to that, just physically feeling a little better, little more energy and I think that's put his mind where we want it.
"I really liked his head placement, how he tipped his nose, how he went through the wire. Not everybody looks like that going that fast. He has the ability within him. And I really like the tempo he has set the last three weeks."
With Suburban Stakes (G2) winner Phileas Fogg being declared out of the Classic because of a foot issue, the potential complexion of the early pace has shifted in a manner that could play further into Magnitude's strength.
"We know enough about Magnitude that him at his best, he simply springs away from there with very little effort. He spends very little time on the ground," Asmussen said. "How quick he can be easily is his best asset. I love him at 1 1/4 miles, and the run you get to the first turn and obviously how he can get from Point A to Point B so effortlessly when he's right."
Joining Magnitude on the Keeneland work tab was stablemate Stradale, who is among the pre-entrants for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). The son of Yaupon brings a two-race win streak into the Sprint and breezed 3 furlongs in :37 4/5 Saturday.
"He is a bull. He is so strong," Asmussen said of Stradale. "I like where his head is right now coming off of two wins. He has handled the racetrack fine. He's going to run really fast, but so are some of the others."
