Colonial Downs’s leading rider this season has a major assignment this Saturday. But it won’t be in New Kent.

Ben Curtis will be five hundred and thirty-four miles almost due north of Colonial, aboard Magnitude in the $1,250,000 Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Curtis will have a monumental opportunity to secure his first North American Grade 1 win.

But to get it, he’ll need to overcome Sovereignty, proven against all comers over his last three stakes wins, two of them Classics.

“First and foremost, I’m excited,” acknowledged Curtis on Off to the Races Radio. “These big races are what get me up in the morning.”

In a very short time at Colonial, Curtis has made an impact, becoming the leading rider almost from the time he walked onto the grounds. Earlier this month Curtis patiently found an opening along the rail to deliver Giocoso a win in the $500,000 Secretariat (G2T). It was Curtis’ fifth Grade 2 win of the year.

“I think that was a hell of a ride by Ben Curtis,” said winning trainer Keith Desormeaux waiting for Giocoso to return to the winner’s circle. “It takes a man with some gumption to go through that hole on the rail because there was no room, but when you got horse, you can make room.”

Following a riding title last summer at Colonial with 24 wins, Curtis is the leading rider at Colonial Downs again this season. Curtis has 27 wins through Aug. 20, six more than his next rival Paco Lopez.

Curtis launched his US racing career at the Fair Grounds in mid-November of 2023 and Magnitude’s trainer, Steve Asmussen, began to send him mounts. As he learned of Curtis’ talent, he gained an appreciation of his capabilities. 

“We’ve rode him two winters at Fair Grounds and had plenty of success,” Asmussen said in an interview. “I’m very confident in his ability and how Magnitude responds to him.”

Back in February, Curtis took a mount for Asmussen to ride longshot Magnitude (43-1) in the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds, a month after the three-year-old finished a disappointing sixth in a sloppy running of the LeComte Stakes in the same venue. After opening the first half-mile in 46 4/5 seconds with a two-length lead, Magnitude poured it on to win by just under ten lengths while earning a gaudy 108 Beyer speed figure.

“I couldn’t be happier with my horse,” supported Curtis. “He got an unbelievable Beyer figure that day. I don’t think he got the credit coming out of it that he deserved. He annihilated a very good field. Horses like East Avenue were all stacked up behind him; Giocoso, these types of horses were in behind him. He demolished them from the quarter pole.”

East Avenue, the 4-5 favorite that day, chased Magnitude for three-quarters of a mile before folding his tent, ultimately finishing 10^th.

A bone chip in his left ankle forced Magnitude to the sidelines for the Triple Crown. Curtis was at Churchill on Derby day to win the Twin Spires Turf Sprint aboard Think Big: not the prize he wanted but a pretty good consolation all the same. And he was happy for rider Junior Alvarado, who got the roses.

“Junior getting the big one on Derby Day on (Sovereignty) was great,” praised Curtis. “I sat next to him that day, I couldn’t be happier for him.”

While Sovereignty went to the head of the class, Curtis waited for Magnitude to return to action, which he did in the $250,000 Iowa Derby July 5.

“He had an ankle chip, so we gave him plenty of time off and he picked up where he left off,” said Asmussen.

Four-and-a-half months after the Risen Star, Magnitude and Curtis delivered a nearly identical winning margin in a performance that resembled the Risen Star, dominating from the gate. This time he wasn’t 43-1, though; he was the 7-10 favorite.

“All you could do was to beat what’s in the field,” recalled Curtis. “He did that again and put them to bed at the quarter pole.”

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After the Iowa Derby, Curtis headed to Colonial Downs to hang his tack for the summer while Magnitude went to Saratoga.

If styles makes fights, then the Travers is going to be a slugfest. Magnitude has earned Beyers of 105 and 108 in his last two with a frontrunning style that’s left his rivals gasping for air.

“The last two races were very fast as we had hoped, and we always thought he had ability, only he hadn’t put it all together [previously],” Asmussen explained. “In the Risen Star he did with a very impressive win in solid field. Obviously, Curtis is a very good horseman, and obviously Magnitude responds to him.”

In winning the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes and the Jim Dandy, Sovereignty registered Beyer figs of between 104 and 109 with a closing style, picking up a charge somewhere near the quarter-pole and closing with an unquestionable finish late.

“Sovereignty is a champion in his own right,” ceded Curtis. “He’s turned up. He’s given everyone something to cheer home and to watch. He’s been fantastic.”

Entered alongside Sovereignty and Magnitude is Strategic Focus, a lightly raced Gun Runner colt trained by Chad Brown. He logged a 102 Beyer in his Saratoga debut on the same day that Sovereignty won the Belmont Stakes. Most recently he was third behind Chancer McPatrick after leading late in the Curlin.

He will likely be pushing Magnitude more than he’ll be pulling late-running Sovereignty. Bracket Buster and McAfee are also in the field.

Sovereignty is 2-5 on the morning line, while Magnitude is 2-1. The battle to be joined: Magnitude’s uncatchable early speed versus Sovereignty’s unstoppable late kick.

Curtis will set aside his comfortable summer carveout in the mid-Atlantic racing world for a big opportunity, perhaps aboard the last horse standing between Sovereignty and an Eclipse coronation in a historic venue known for historic upsets.

“He’s now a fresh horse going into the later stages of the year,” commended Curtis. “I wouldn’t swap Magnitude for any other horse in the country. The future is bright and I’m excited [for] next Saturday.”