Magnitude looks to shake up sophomore picture in G1 DraftKings Travers

• Magnitude looks to shake up sophomore picture in G1 DraftKings Travers
• Halina’s Forte among evenly-matched field in Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Ballerina
• Over and Ollie a live longshot in G1 Forego
• New York-bred Mo Plex on target for G1 Pennsylvania Derby

Just three years ago, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen enjoyed a marquee victory with a strapping son of Not This Time as Epicenter romped to victory in the Grade 1 Travers. This year, the same connections have a chance to do it all over again with yet another son of Not This Time as Magnitude takes on the $1.25 million DraftKings Travers on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.  

“We’ve got a nice horse and a big opportunity,” said David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. “He missed the Kentucky Derby, so this is kind of like his Derby. Hopefully, he can do what he does best, which is win with a big speed figure.”

A big figure will be needed to topple the current divisional leader Sovereignty, the 2-5 morning line favorite and dual Classic winner that earned a field-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure for a three-length score in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets in June over course and distance.

The speedy Magnitude is not far behind in terms of career-best numbers, boasting a 108 Beyer for a 9 3/4-length trouncing of the Grade 2 Risen Star under Ben Curtis in February at Fair Grounds Race Course in wire-to-wire fashion. An ankle chip kept him off the road to the Kentucky Derby – a race Sovereignty won by 1 1/2 lengths – but he returned with aplomb last out to post a similar pacesetting victory under Curtis in the Listed Iowa Derby on July 5 at Prairie Meadows, which registered a 105 Beyer.

“We couldn’t be more excited for this – we’ve been waiting for months now,” Fiske said. “Ever since February when we won the Risen Star and then two days later, it was, ‘oh, time to cancel the Derby reservations.’ The way he came back in Iowa was pretty impressive and he again got a big speed figure. It was always the plan that if he ran well in his comeback that we would show up for the Travers.”

Magnitude entered the Risen Star off a pair of even efforts at Fair Grounds, finishing second to Built in the Listed Gun Runner and sixth in the Grade 3 Lecomte. Despite going off at 43-1 in the Risen Star, Fiske said there was always confidence that the $450,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase could be brilliant in the afternoons.

“We always believed in this horse ever since the previous summer, and he’d kind of shown talent in the mornings, talent in the afternoons, and then for whatever reason, he didn’t show up a couple times,” Fiske said. “It was maybe a lack of maturity. Steve sends me videos every morning of the horses, and going into the Risen Star, Magnitude looked like King Kong.”

Fiske said Magnitude is not one-dimensional, but his natural speed makes him the likely pacesetter in a compact field of five on Saturday.

“I don’t think he’s necessarily a need-the-lead, pulling the rider out of the saddle kind of guy,” Fiske said. “He is very tractable, and I have seen him run alongside other horses – inside or outside – and that doesn’t seem to bother him at all. But in a smaller field, if there’s anybody that can keep up with him, good luck. It looks like there might be a couple that might try, but we’ll see.”

Magnitude will exit the inside post [2-1ML] with Curtis in the irons, and Fiske said he welcomes the lofty challenge ahead.

“To be the champ, you have to beat the champ,” Fiske concluded. “Sovereignty is the leader in the clubhouse at the moment for the Eclipse Award, so we’ll see if we can shake up the balloting a little bit.”

While Winchell Thoroughbreds seeks their second Travers victory on Saturday, they also will have a chance to secure their second Grade 1, $500,000 Forego victory with Extra Anejo, who runs one race before the Travers in the prestigious seven-furlong sprint for older horses.

The Forego winner will receive a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on November 1 at Del Mar. Winchell Thoroughbreds captured the 2023 Forego with the Asmussen-trained Gunite en route to a runner-up finish in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Extra Anejo enters from a 1 1/2-length third in the Listed Hanshin traveling one mile on June 29 at Churchill Downs. There, he tracked in fifth-of-8 early and improved to be within a neck of the lead at the stretch call, but weakened late as Will Take It claimed victory.

Fiske said he was pleased to see Extra Anejo rebound after a distant off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Churchill Downs in May over seven furlongs of sloppy and sealed Churchill dirt.

“He always seems to show up, and I think his race in the mud was his worst race, but he runs well fresh,” Fiske said. “I think he just got a little late in the stretch the last sixteenth of a mile [in the Hanshin].”

Extra Anejo was awarded a 95 Beyer for the Hanshin effort, two points off his career-best earned for a 1 1/2-length score with a deep-closing trip in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Commonwealth in April at Keeneland.

Fiske said the 5-year-old Into Mischief bay is in peak condition heading into the Forego.

“He’s doing great. He’s about as fit as I’ve seen him,” Fiske said. “We’ve been able to train him consistently and he looks great. He’s an Into Mischief, so he’s a pretty big-bodied colt, but he’s fit.”

Extra Anejo, who will also be piloted by Curtis, drew post 5-of-11 in the Forego with a morning line assessment of 20-1.

Fiske also noted that three-time Grade 1-placed Disarm is on schedule for a start in the local Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup on August 31 on the heels of a game third-place finish to Sierra Leone in the Grade 1 Whitney on August 2 here. The 10-furlong Jockey Club Gold Cup offers a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 1 at Del Mar.

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Halina’s Forte among evenly-matched field in Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Ballerina

Rigney Racing’s Halina’s Forte is among an evenly-matched field of nine in Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Resorts World Casino Ballerina, a seven-furlong sprint for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up, at Saratoga Race Course. The Ballerina offers a “Win and You’re In” berth into the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on November 1 at Del Mar.

Trained by Phil Bauer, the 4-year-old Mitole bay closed up the rail to launch a 24-1 upset last out in the Grade 2 Honorable Miss over six furlongs of sloppy and sealed footing on July 20 here. Halina’s Forte improved her record to 2-for-2 at the Spa, adding to a win in off-the-turf 5 1/2-furlong Galway last August.

Both of the aforementioned victories were under Irad Ortiz, Jr., who is slated to ride Grade 2 Chicago runner-up Claret Beret for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr., with Hall of Famer Joel Rosario jumping aboard Halina’s Forte from post 4, tabbed at 10-1 morning line odds.

“She’s doing great and I think she’s earned a shot to try Grade 1 company,” said Bauer. “I’m happy with our draw. I think we can have a similar trip to last time, but the seven-eighths is a question mark. She did handle that early in her 3-year-old year and I think she’s matured and should be able to handle it again.”

Halina’s Forte’s best performances at seven furlongs include a 1 3/4-length victory in the Ruthless last February at Aqueduct Racetrack and a fourth in the Grade 2 Eight Belles the following May won by returning rival My Mane Squeeze.

“I don’t know if we’ll get the same pace scenario going seven furlongs as the Honorable Miss,” Bauer said. “I don’t think it’ll be quite as fast but we’d like to see a somewhat similar trip where she breaks sharp, gets her legs underneath her, and comes with a late run. That’s what we’ll tell Joel and hopefully he’s able to save ground and find something late.”

Halina’s Forte is 2-for-3 over wet tracks among her 14-6-3-2 record with $526,450 in earnings.

“It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful forecast and she’s won on all different types of surfaces and tracks,” said Bauer. “She takes her race with her wherever she goes.”

A prospect on the Travers Day-undercard for the same connections is Tam Tam in Race 3, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies. The Medaglia d’Oro bay will exit the outermost post 9 in rein to Jose Ortiz, tabbed at morning-line odds of 7-2. Tam Tam is named for owner Richard Rigney’s wife, Tammy.

Tam Tam was purchased for $975,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. She is out of the Distorted Humor mare Princess Julia and her second dam is dual Grade 1-winner Folklore, who captured the 2005 Grade 2 Adirondack here as part of a campaign that included top-flight scores at Belmont Park in the Matron and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies en route to Champion 2-Year-Old Filly honors.

“She continues to impress in the mornings,” said Bauer. “She is continually growing. She has gotten a lot of leg added to her here in the last few months. My only concern is that she’s probably been outworking some horses that probably just aren't as good as her, so how good is she? We’ll find out. The race is all first time starters, so you don’t know.”

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Over and Ollie a live longshot in G1 Forego

Dennis Narlinger’s Over and Ollie will make his top-flight debut in a stacked renewal of Saturday’s Grade 1, $500,000 Forego, a seven-furlong sprint for older horses, at Saratoga Race Course. The Forego, which offers a “Win and You’re In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar, features a field of 11 led by Book’em Danno and defending race winner Mullikin.

Over and Ollie, a 5-year-old Cairo Prince grey, boasts a 12-4-2-0 record. He joined the Rick Dutrow, Jr. barn for his most recent outing when edging clear to a frontrunning four-length win under Irad Ortiz, Jr. in a 6 1/2-furlong optional-claimer on July 4 here. That effort came nearly six months after a distant second to Kavod in his stakes debut in the 5 1/2-furlong off-the-turf Duncan F. Kenner over sloppy and sealed footing at the Fair Grounds while in the care of trainer Al Stall, Jr.

“When I picked the horse up off of Al Stall, he told me, 'Rick, the horse is doing great, and he loves Saratoga,'” Dutrow, Jr. said. “I sent him into Belmont, and he was just training like a regular fella, but when I put him in up there, my God, he ran big. He just came out of the gate and buried that field. My goodness.”

Over and Ollie, bred in Ontario by A&A Farms, is undefeated in three local starts, having graduated in a maiden claiming turf route last July ahead of an off-the-turf optional-claiming win traveling one-mile out of the Wilson Chute over a muddy and sealed track one month later.

Dutrow, Jr. said Ortiz, Jr., who was aboard for the off-the-turf score here last summer, was suitably impressed with Over and Ollie’s recent win. However, with Ortiz, Jr. slated to ride Bishops Bay on Saturday, it will be Jose Ortiz, who piloted Over and Ollie to an 8 3/4-length allowance romp over sloppy and sealed footing in December at Fair Grounds, that picks up the mount from post 9 with a 30-1 morning-line assessment.

“All the riders that get on him in the morning say, 'this is a grass horse,'” said Dutrow, Jr., with a laugh. “Irad loved him when he breezed him a couple times ago. We got his brother, who is just on fire up there, for Saturday, and he's ridden the horse one time and won by eight or nine lengths, so those two get along well. We've got a lot of things going our way there.”

Dutrow, Jr. pulled off a 10-1 upset here in the 2023 Grade 1 Whitney with White Abarrio and is bullish on Over and Ollie’s chances after his strong effort off the layoff that registered a career-best 95 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He's in a tough spot. This might be the best sprint of the year, but he's doing fantastic,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “We're looking for him to run big. I know he's in an impossible spot, but still, he's got a very good chance of showing up because of the dynamics. He loves it up there. I don't know what it is [about Saratoga] and I don't care, but he's on it.

“I loved his last race up there,” Dutrow, Jr. added. “I'd love to win another big race with a white horse up there, that would be beautiful.”

Also in a difficult spot Saturday for Dutrow, Jr. is Black Type Thoroughbreds, Swinbank Stables, Judy Hicks and Scott Rice’s McAfee [post 5, John Velazquez], who is listed at 20-1 on the morning line for the Grade 1, $1.25 million DraftKings Travers. The 10-furlong Travers for 3-year-olds drew a field of five headlined by dual Classic-winner Sovereignty.

McAfee, a Cloud Computing dark bay, looks to finish one better than his half-sister Thorpedo Anna did when second to Fierceness in last year’s Travers en route to a win in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff and Horse of the Year honors.

McAfee has finished on-the-board in a trio of nine-furlong graded events in his last three outings, including a three-quarter-length second to Hill Road in the Grade 3 Peter Pan in May at Belmont at the Big A and a last-out second to Chunk of Gold in the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby on August 3 at Mountaineer. Those efforts surrounded a third to Mo Plex in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby in June at Thistledown.

“Now that he's fit - and racing fit - he's a nice enough horse,” Dutrow, Jr. said. “We see the horses going in there, we're hoping we can beat one or two of them and be happy with a third-place. Anything can happen up there. Our horse might love the track and maybe somebody might not like it that day."

Dutrow, Jr. said he is cautiously optimistic that he’s yet to have seen the best of McAfee.

“I'm hoping not. I'm hoping we'll see that this Saturday - just to see him grab a hold of the bit turning for home, I'd love to see that,” Dutrow, Jr. said.

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New York-bred Mo Plex on target for G1 Pennsylvania Derby

R and H Stable’s dual graded stakes-winning New York-bred Mo Plex continues to train forwardly for his upcoming outing in the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, a nine-furlong route for sophomores on September 20, at Parx Racing.

Mo Plex [9-5-1-2, $775,000] captured the Grade 3 Sanford and state-bred Funny Cide presented by Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital here last summer. He notched additional stakes scores in the seven-furlong Listed Bay Shore in April at Aqueduct Racetrack with Manny Franco aboard ahead of a Joe Ramos-piloted victory in the nine-furlong Grade 3 Ohio Derby on June 21 at Thistledown.

Last out, Mo Plex was a pacesetting fourth in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy presented by Mohegan Sun where he was 10 1/4-lengths back of Sovereignty, who is favored in Saturday’s Grade 1 DraftKings Travers here.

Englehart said he preferred to wait for the Pennsylvania Derby rather than run in Thursday’s state-bred Albany presented by Albany Distilling Company or Saturday’s Travers.

“I have to give him another shot [at the top-flight], especially when I don’t think he ran his ‘A’ race in the Jim Dandy,” Englehart said.

Englehart said he is buoyed at the prospect of Mo Plex being reunited with Ramos and the fact that the last two Pennsylvania Derby winners – Seize the Grey [4th] and Saudi Crown [2nd] – made their previous start in the Jim Dandy.

“He's going to come into the race fresh. It's a lot of time between races and we're going back with Joe Ramos who rode him in the Ohio Derby,” Englehart said. “To me, you look at the last two winners of the Pennsylvania Derby - they both lost in the Jim Dandy and made their next start in the Pennsylvania Derby. Both those horses had good natural speed so why not try to make it three in a row.”

Mo Plex has worked back twice over the Oklahoma training track, including a half-mile in 48.48 August 17. Englehart said the colt is in good order and should things not work out at the top-flight, a return to state-bred company in the $250,000 Empire Classic versus elders on October 25 at Belmont at the Big A looms.

“He’s doing really well,” Englehart said. “I can always come back and run him in the Empire Classic, but I definitely think he deserves another shot.”

Bred by Everything’s Cricket Racing, Mo Plex was a $45,000 purchase at last year’s OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and is out of the unraced Uncle Mo mare Mo Joy, a half-sister to dual stakes-placed Little Daddy.