Magnitude got the better of Forever Young, guided by a masterclass from José Ortiz
- Turf Diario
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
The Puerto Rican jockey put the son of Not This Time on the lead, and the American team claimed the 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup (G1)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Special for Turf Diario).— From Cigar (Palace Music) to Magnitude: a seismic shock rocked Forever Young (Real Steel) in the 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup (G1-2,000m, dirt, US$ 12,000,000 purse). When Dubai welcomed the world to the old Nad Al Sheba racecourse for the first time in 1996, the Horse of America, Cigar, repelled the seemingly inevitable challenge of his compatriot Soul of the Matter (Private Terms), helping consolidate Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's goal of creating a global-scale spectacle in the Emirates.
The eyes of the racing public were set on the imposing Meydan racecourse for the thirtieth version of the event—which now triples the original purse—and on Forever Young, who sought to complete an unprecedented sequence in the three richest dirt races in the world. Ultimately, it was not to be, as Magnitude took control from the jump and the favorite, giving his best effort to catch him, ran out of ground.
Having skipped the Saudi Cup (G1)—won with less effort than in 2025 by Forever Young—Magnitude arrived as a reasonably fresh horse following an effortless victory in the Razorback Handicap (G3). He shot out from gate one, traveling fluently under the guidance of José Ortiz, while being closely followed by Forever Young and the Saudi Cup third, Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance).
Still traveling strongly entering the final 800 meters, Magnitude was asked for acceleration upon turning into the straight and left Forever Young somewhat static, putting about 2 lengths of daylight on the reigning Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner.
Even with a lead at the final 200-meter pole, Magnitude drifted slightly off the rails, but the best Forever Young could do was reach the tail of the son of Not This Time at the wire. Meydaan (Frankel) took the photo-finish for third place, well behind the top two.
"We knew we had a very good horse, but obviously Forever Young is the best in the world," declared the winning rider, José Ortiz. Regarding the race strategy, Ortiz added: "We left all options open; if he broke well, we could go to the lead; if someone jumped better than him, we would just stay close, perhaps behind the speed. He didn't have a flyer, but he jumped well and I knew it was the moment to go. I asked him to run and he was there for me."
For his part, winning trainer Steve Asmussen—who had already claimed the 2008 World Cup with Curlin (Smart Strike) and saddled Gun Runner (Candy Ride) to be second to Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) in 2017—commented: "What an incredible victory! We just wanted to let him run his race from point A to point B. The horse is very confident and that gave us confidence. It unfolded exactly as we wanted."
Ortiz mentioned that celebrations would be rather quiet given the early flight back to the United States this Sunday. "I'm not used to racing late at night under the lights," he said. "I'm hungry, I want to go eat! We fly out quite early tomorrow, so I prefer to wait and celebrate with my family and friends. Maybe we'll have a barbecue."
Forever Young’s trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, believes the Meydan track "doesn't seem to suit" his horse, having finished third in the Dubai World Cup last year. While he won the UAE Derby (G2) on this track in 2024, it was a hard-fought success that rated below the rest of his performances at age 3.
"Everything went according to plan, but the winner was better today," concluded Forever Young's regular partner, Ryusei Sakai.
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