VIDEO: US colt Magnitude wins $12m Dubai World Cup at Meydan

American colt Magnitude, owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, was crowned champion of the 30th edition of the Dubai World Cup today at Meydan Racecourse.

The four-year-old, trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Jose Ortiz, clinicaly claimed the Group 1 showpiece over 2,000 metres on the dirt track. Competing against a field of nine elite international contenders, Magnitude secured the $6.96 million winner's prize from the total $12 million purse sponsored by Emirates.

Magnitude completed the distance in a time of 2:04.38, winning by a margin of 0.98 lengths to secure the United States' ninth victory in the history of the Dubai World Cup.

The Japanese challenger Forever Young, owned by Susumu Fujita, finished second under trainer Yoshito Yahagi and jockey Ryusei Sakai, earning $2.4 million. Third place went to the UAE’s Meydaan, owned by Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford and ridden by William Buick, taking home $1.2 million.

"Obviously, Forever Young was the best horse in the world and we had to respect that. But we knew we had a horse good enough to win, and he showed up to it," said Ortiz, who fought back ⁠tears after the win.

"He jumped well, he put me in the lead, I was very happy to be there... when I looked to my side, passing 600 metres, I saw Forever Young and I knew it was time to go. I knew he was going to be the horse to beat, so I asked (Magnitude) to run and he was there for me."

It was the second Dubai World Cup title for trainer Steven Asmussen, who previously won it in 2008 ⁠with Curlin, another American-trained thoroughbred.

Meydaan, named after the venue holding the race, finished third.

Ortiz said the celebrations will be rather muted ahead of an early morning flight back to the United States on Sunday.

"I'm not used to racing late at night under lights," he said. "I'm hungry, I want to go and eat! We fly pretty early tomorrow so I'd rather wait and celebrate with my family and friends. Maybe we'll have a cookout."

Forever Young's trainer Yoshito Yahagi believes that the Meydan track "doesn't seem to suit" his horse, having finished third in the Dubai World Cup last year. He did win the G2 UAE Derby on the track in 2024, but it was a workmanlike success that rated below the rest of his performances at three.

“Everything went the way we planned but the winner was good today," said Forever Young's regular partner Ryusei Sakai.

Agencies