Steve Asmussen

Magnitude did not disappoint the hopefuls as he took the Iowa Derby stylishly at Prairie Meadows on Saturday evening. Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack's story this week on the colt's return to the races post-surgery reported that trainer Steve Asmussen was "dreaming big" about the Winchell-owned runner's prospects. The reason had something to do with the stellar result from the GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in mid-February when the 3-year-old won by 9 3/4 lengths with a 108 Beyer to boot. Prior to that, Magnitude had broken...

'TDN Rising Star' Obliteration (c, 2, Violence--I'mclassyandsassy, by Master Command), a runaway debut winner at Churchill Downs June 12, lived up to his name with another dominating victory in Saturday's GIII Sanford S. at Saratoga. Blinging It Back (Volatile) was second; Imagine John (Maclean's Music) was third. The 4-5 favorite shot out to the front beneath Flavien Prat, was hounded by Blinging It Back through fractions of :22.74 and :45.56 and powered clear from that rival in the stretch to win by 10 1/2 lengths. "He's just a very special...

7th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 3:42 p.m. ET. INTEGER (Candy Ride {Arg}) makes his first start for St. Elias, West Point, Don Alberto, Woodford and CJ Stables. An $800,000 buy at the 2023 Keeneland September Sale, the Steve Asmussen trainee is the lone foal out of GSW Magic Star (Scat Daddy), who sadly passed away in 2022. The gelding's second dam is GI Matron Stakes heroine Meadow Breeze (Meadowlake), whose half-brother is GI Arkansas Derby champ Overanalyze (Dixie Union). Set for his unveiling is Snowdrift (Medaglia d'Oro) and the...

Forced to miss the Triple Crown series after exiting his sensational GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. victory with an ankle chip, Magnitude (Not This Time) makes his highly anticipated return in Saturday evening's $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. He is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. The Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer was a 9 3/4-length, front-running winner of the Risen Star at odds of 43-1 Feb. 15, good for a 108 Beyer Speed Figure. His final time of 1:48.85 was the fastest Risen Star in seven runnings (including one year with split...

They got just four horses for the $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby Saturday, hardly a surprise since most stakes run at Los Al wind up with depressingly small fields. The Ashley T. Cole S. at Aqueduct attracted a field of five. At Laurel, the Deputed Testamony drew five starters and so did the Alma North S. Only four ran in the DeFrancis Memorial Dash. At least Laurel had an excuse as a number of horses expected to be shipping down from New York had to be scratched because of the quarantine...

1st-Churchill Downs, $117,975, Msw, 6-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:34.03, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. LEMON ZEST (f, 3, Nyquist--Larkin, by Bernardini) came into this second jump out of a live maiden on debut May 17 beneath these Twin Spires. The winner of that contest, Me and Molly McGee (Vekoma), won a first-level allowance at this venue June 22 after a prolonged duel and earned an 85 Beyer for the effort. The runner-up Spun Candy (Hard Spun) broke her maiden June 28--also at Churchill--and earned an 86 for her troubles while High...

1st-Churchill Downs, $118,636, Msw, 6-28, 2yo, 5f, :58.10, ft, neck. PAPA KEN (c, 2, Yaupon--Whatashame, by Blame) took on a field of entirely first-time starters as the 5-2 second choice behind the son of another first-crop sire in 4-5 favorite I C Light (Charlatan). 8-1 longshot Spirit of Royal (Global Campaign) flashed speed from the outside and led this field as far he could through fractions of :22.46 and :45.67 but Papa Ken loomed off the turn from second as I C Light yielded at the quarter pole. In a...

1st-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 12:45 p.m. ET. The news broke this past week that Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas would be stepping down as the head of his stable because of health reasons and assistant Bas Nicholl would be taking over for the man known to many as 'Coach.' In Saturday's opener on the card, the aptly-named TRACK LEGEND (Charlatan) will be unveiled for owner Live the Legacy with Lukas still listed in the program. Out of Canadian champion female sprinter Moonlit Promise (Malibu Moon), the dark...

OCALA, FL - With a flurry of late big-ticket items, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its two-day run with a new record price, as well as highwater marks for both average and median. "You always hope," OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said when asked if he expected the splash of records. "We saw the same pattern that we saw in the 2-year-old market all year and I am glad that it held all the way to June. Sometimes you worry about the last...

Obliteration (c, 2, Violence--I'mclassyandsassy, by Master Command), one of a debuting pair available at double digits for the reliable Steve Asmussen stable, ran away from a very promising group of 2-year-old males to become the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star', this one at Churchill Downs. A $200,000 purchase at this year's OBS March Sale--one of four horses bought out of the auction by the re-engaging Leland Ackerley--the bay colt was in front not long after the start and led for just short of a furlong before being displaced on the...

Strada Del Sogno (f, 2, Street Boss--Line Up, by Violence), whose only career start to date resulted in a third-place finish last month behind Royal Ascot-bound Lennilu (Leinster) in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes at Gulfstream Park, sold for $150,000 to top Fasig-Tipton's June Digital Sale Tuesday. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent consigned the chestnut filly as hip 2. Offered as a horse of racing age from Gulfstream, Strada Del Sogno sold to Elkin Family Racing. Total receipts for the June Digital Sale included 53 horses sold for $1,401,500,...

2nd-Churchill Downs, $114,600, Msw, 5-23, 2yo, 5f, :58.36, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. SPICE RUNNER (c, 2, Gun Runner--Simple Surprise {SW, $185,446}, by Cowboy Cal), a full-brother to Gunite, MGISW-USA, G1SP-UAE, GSP-KSA, $2,493,009, validated 1-4 favoritism with a comfortable debut success Friday afternoon. Drawn widest in a field scratched down from eight to just five juvenile colts, the homebred jumped away very sharply and it appeared that the colt could have made the running if his jockey chose to do so, but instead Jose Ortiz elected to take a hold of...