As North America’s all-time winningest trainer, Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen has won just about every type of race, from a low-level claimer to grade 1 stakes, topped by the Preakness Stakes (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
Among major races, only the Kentucky Derby (G1)—the deepest and most challenging race in the country to win—has eluded him, though he has run second three times, most recently 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. On Feb. 15 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, their 3-year-old Magnitude ran his way into the Run for the Roses by romping by 9 3/4 lengths in the $500,000 Risen Star Stakes (G2).
With the race part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series, Magnitude earned 50 qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, advancing his total to 55 and placing him second on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard behind 2024 champion 2-year-old male Citizen Bull with 60. 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 Saturday, he won’t just be in the race but could contend. The Not This Time colt was sharp throughout in the Risen Star, upsetting the race at 43-1 odds, whipping all of the favorites, including 2024 Breeders’ Futurity (G1) winner and 4-5 favorite East Avenue , who retreated in his 3-year-old return after chasing the winner early. He finished in a dead heat for 10th, 22 3/4 lengths behind Magnitude.
“I felt like a winner every step until we got to the far turn; he switched leads and just kind of emptied out on me,” said East Avenue’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione.
Magnitude Played East Avenue’s Front-Running Game
Magnitude did what the public expected East Avenue to do in the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star: bust out on top and prove uncatchable. Hustled to gain position from his outside post in the field of 12, he set quick fractions of :23.42, :46.92, and 1:10.95 while clear of the favorite.
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, but Magnitude quickly turned back his bid and drew clear in the lane under 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 race to 1 1/8 miles in 2020. He 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 when eighth on the Whit Beckman-trained 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 outsiders 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 qualifying points on 25-15-10-5 scale.
Built, the Lecomte runner-up 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 designated preps in late March and early April.
Three Risen Star competitors have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, all since the turn of the century: War Emblem, sixth in the Risen Star in 2002; Country House , second in the 2019 Risen Star; and Mandaloun , first in the 2021 Risen Star. The latter was elevated to first in the 2021 Derby due to the postrace disqualification of Medina Spirit for an equine medication violation.
Last year’s Risen Star winner, Sierra Leone , ran second, beaten a nose in the Derby, and later won the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) during a championship campaign.
Asmussen Praises Series at Fair Grounds
Asmussen won the Risen Star for the fourth time after success from Epicenter (2022), Gun Runner (2016), and Pyro (2008). The trainer likes to stable his best horses during the winter in New Orleans at Fair Grounds, which has a well-respected main track and a mild winter climate.
He credited the foundation that Magnitude has received at Fair Grounds as instrumental in his success under supervision from his longtime assistant Scott Blasi.
“Being here, staying in the system, and what you can develop—it’s why we’re here,” he said. “The horse has not missed a single day, a single oat.”
Magnitude and his connections after the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds
Magnitude earned $300,000 to advance his earnings to $446,165 from a record of 3-1-0 in seven starts. Bred in Kentucky by Ron Stolich, he is out of the Bernardini mare Rockadelic . He was a $450,000 purchase by Winchell Thoroughbreds from the Gainesway consignment to the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
With his win and an earlier score in the Lecomte Stakes (G3) from Disco Time , Not This Time colts have been triumphant in both of Fair Grounds’ open-company graded races for 3-year-olds to date in 2025. The series for 3-year-olds at Fair Grounds concludes with the $1 million Louisiana Derby (G2) March 22.
Not This Time stands for $175,000 at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky.
