Zipse: Magnitude returns as explosive as ever

It’s good to see that a few months away during the winter have done nothing to dull the eruptive talent of Magnitude.

Returning to the races in style on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, the Steve Asmussen-trained bay colt announced himself a serious player among America’s top horses with a dominant victory in the $500,000 Razorback Handicap (G3).

It was a performance which his Hall of Fame trainer calls his best to date. Having had some of the best horses of the 21st century in his barn, Asmussen knows topnotch thoroughbreds better than most.

When last seen Magnitude was finishing off a most interesting 3-year-old campaign with a determined victory over older horses in the Clark Stakes (G2) three months ago.

That victory at Churchill Downs was his most important in an up and down sophomore season, which also saw him impressively win both the Risen Star (G2) and Iowa Derby.

Those strong victories in 2025, as well as a very good second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) spoke to the raw ability of Magnitude, while flops in the Lecomte (G3) and the Travers (G1) kept him from being regarded as one of the very best of the crop.

In the Clark, the closest challenger to Magnitude at the wire was the nine-time stakes winner Hit Show, whose biggest claim to fame is a victory in the 2025 Dubai World Cup (G1) over the champion Forever Young.

After Saturday’s good-looking Razorback win, Magnitude will now take his shot in the same $12 million race and face the Japanese star on March 28 at Meydan.

As good as he sometimes looked last year, it will be interesting to see if Magnitude can become a more consistent powerhouse as an older runner. There were some good signs in his return race.

Magnitude broke from the gate sharply but quickly relaxed for rider Jose Ortiz. Comfortably stalking a solid pace set by the improving Nu What’s New, he continued a recent trend of being ratable.

Once thought of as a ‘need the lead’ type, the son of Not This Time appears to be developing into a more mature athlete. The ability to kindly take the cues of his rider will be a major factor in both his consistency moving forward, as well as his chances against the world’s best.

Although the early leader never folded while carrying eight pounds less, Magnitude took command of the 1 1/16-mile test turning for home and powered away late. He hit the wire a convincing 3 3/4-length winner, while covering the distance in racehorse time 1:42.10.

The return victory in the Razorback was very good, but there is still room for improvement as the heavily favored winner lost a bit of focus in mid-stretch and bobbled back and forth between leads. He quickly righted the ship, however, and athletically sprinted to the wire.

Now a winner of 6-of-12 lifetime with $1,584,365 in the bank, the Winchell Thoroughbreds color-bearer joins an excellent crop of returning 4-year-olds led by the top three finishers of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes: Sovereignty, Journalism, and Baeza.

Magnitude had to be on the sidelines during the 2025 Triple Crown series due to injury. He has returned from the setback with three wins in five tries and has looked the part of a more seasoned professional in each of his last three starts. His future appears to be bright.

The Dubai World Cup and Forever Young will undoubtedly be a big ask of him later this month, but Magnitude’s racing career appears to be on the right track.

Having taken us on a bit of a roller coaster ride with his performances earlier in his career, he may finally be developing into the type of horse which was teased by his tour-de-force victory one year ago in the Risen Star.