Magnitude brings Dubai World Cup form to star-studded Stephen Foster

Magnitude arrives at the Stephen Foster with the kind of résumé that usually makes a horse the center of the conversation. He beat Forever Young in the $12 million Dubai World Cup, ran that score into a third straight victory and backed himself into the kind of form line that screams major player.

The strange part is that the market may still treat him like the third choice. That is the contradiction at the heart of this Foster: White Abarrio has his own class, Sovereignty brings the aura of a Kentucky Derby winner and reigning Horse of the Year, and Baeza adds the kind of rising-class angle that can pull public money fast. Magnitude is the horse with the freshest international signature win, but he also has to reintroduce himself to bettors who are still deciding how much weight to give a Dubai trip when the best older dirt horses in America are waiting at Churchill Downs.

Churchill doubled the purse from $1 million to $2 million on May 20 to turn the 45th running of the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 for 4-year-olds and up into a proper June showdown. The race is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, so the winner gets a berth into the $7 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31. The June 27 card will feature seven stakes worth a combined $4.1 million, with the Foster anchoring Churchill’s Summer Showdown.

The work tabs say Magnitude is coming in live. He went five furlongs in 1:02.60 on May 24 at Churchill Downs, while White Abarrio finished his final major prep with a half-mile breeze in :49.81 on June 18 at Gulfstream Park. Baeza’s camp confirmed in mid-May that he was headed for the race, and Churchill singled out Sovereignty, White Abarrio, Magnitude and Baeza as the headliners for Stephen Foster Day.

Steve Asmussen’s own framing explains why Magnitude matters even beyond the odds board. Speaking about Forever Young, Asmussen said, “anyone who is not a fan of Forever Young is not a fan of horse racing,” a line that captures both the quality of the horse Magnitude already beat and the scale of the test ahead. If Magnitude turns Dubai into a launching pad instead of a distant memory, this Foster will read less like a prep and more like a confirmation race for the rest of the older-dirt division.

That is what makes the 2026 edition feel bigger than last year’s race, when Mindframe won in 1:47.48 over Sierra Leone in what Churchill called one of the deepest Foster fields in the event’s 44-year history. With more than $26 million in combined earnings expected in the 2025 preview and even more star power now, this renewal has the look of a summit meeting, not a stopover.