Magnitude ran his way onto the Road to the Kentucky Derby for trainer Steve Asmussen by romping to a 9 ¾-length upset to win the $500,000 Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds.

With the Risen Star part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series, Magnitude earned 50 qualifying points toward a start in the May 3 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs. The points advanced Magnitude’s point total to 55 to place him second on the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard behind only 2024 champion 2-year-old male Citizen Bull. Based on historical trends, his total should be more than enough to secure entry in the 1 1/4-mile Derby. Churchill Downs uses qualifying points as a preference system when the race draws more than its 20-horse field size.

If he runs at Churchill Downs as he did at Fair Grounds in the Risen Star, Magnitude could contend in the run for the roses. The colt was sharp throughout the race, posting the upset at 43-1 odds and whipping all of the favorites including 2024 Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity winner East Avenue, who faded badly and finished in a dead heat for 10th, 22 3/4 lengths behind Magnitude.

Magnitude did what the public expected East Avenue to do in the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star. He burst out on top and proved to be uncatchable in quick fractions of :23.42, :46.92, and 1:10.95.

On the second of two turns, Gun Runner Stakes winner Built, who stalked the early pace, passed a suddenly retreating East Avenue and took aim at the winner. Magnitude quickly turned back his bid, however, and drew clear in the lane under jockey Ben Curtis. The winner’s mile split was 1:36.13, and his final time of 1:48.85 on a fast track was the quickest since Fair Grounds extended the distance of the Risen Star to 1 1/8 miles in 2020.

Magnitude paid $88.40 to win.

The Irish-born Curtis, who relocated to ride full-time in the United States in 2023, competed in the Kentucky Derby for the first time last year and finished eighth aboard Honor Marie.

He said about his ride on Magnitude, “It was fantastic. It is a pleasure to ride horses like that. The instructions were limited but they were let the horse do what he does and try to get forward. I had all the confidence going out there in the world. He pulled away very well in the stretch, and he hit the line strong. Couldn’t be happier with the horse, couldn’t be happier with the trip.”

Built flattened out down the stretch and was passed late by another 43-1 shot, Chunk of Gold, who grabbed the place. The two longshots led to a massive exacta that returned $1,314.70 for a $1 wager.

Built, Vassimo, and American Promise rounded out the top five positions. Those running second through fifth earned Derby qualifying points on 25-15-10-5 scale. Built, the Lecomte Stakes runner-up and who defeated Magnitude in the Gun Runner Stakes in December, sits third on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 35 points and is likely poised to make the eventual Derby field. The Risen Star was the first race this winter to offer 105 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Other races will offer such points over the next month or so before the point totals increase further in the most crucial final round of Kentucky Derby prep races in late March and early April.

Last year’s Risen Star winner, Sierra Leone, ran second by a nose in the Kentucky Derby and later won the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic to complete a 3-year-old championship campaign.

Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, North America’s all-time winningest trainer, has won just about every type of race. Among major races, only the Kentucky Derby has eluded him, though he has run second three times including with Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Epicenter in 2022. Should all go well in the coming months, it seems both Asmussen and Winchell Thoroughbreds will have another crack at the prestigious first leg of the Triple Crown with Magnitude, who earned $300,000 to raise his earnings to $446,165 from a record of 3-1-0 in seven starts.

Good Cheer kept her undefeated record intact and sailed to her fifth straight victory with a rousing performance in the $282,000 Grade 2 Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds, where she demolished her rivals by a widening 6 1/4 lengths.

“She’s really good. The longer the better,” trainer Brad Cox said.

The 1 1/8 miles of the Grade 1 Longines Kentucky Oaks down Churchill Downs’ long stretch should fall right into the 3-year-old daughter of Medaglia d’Oro’s wheelhouse on the first Friday in May.

“Stamina is her calling card,” said ownership spokesperson Michael Banahan, Godolphin USA’s director of bloodstock. “She’s a very efficient filly, lots of class. It’s nice to have one like her.”

Godolphin captured the Rachel Alexandra Stakes in 2023 with eventual Kentucky Oaks victress Pretty Mischievous and again in 2023 with Tarifa, who was also trained by Cox.

Shouldering her way into the clear at the eighth pole under jockey Luis Saez, Good Cheer ($2.10 to win) took the lead in the stretch and exploded to daylight, finishing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.12 geared down at the finish.

“We’re very proud of her and very excited about her moving forward on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks,” Cox said.

Gowells Delight, fourth last time out in the Martha Washington Stakes at Oaklawn Park, ran on for runner-up honors.

Collecting her third stakes score, Good Cheer vaulted to the top of the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard with 45 points. — Molly Rollins