The brilliant Lagynos burst through the $2 million mark on Saturday when taking the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds, his seventh win in total.
Lagynos was a $200,000 yearling purchase by Chad Schumer out of the Valkyre Stud draft at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale.
On Saturday, the Kantharos 5yo travelled kindly for Jose Ortiz before bursting through a gap to win going away by a length from Tom’s Magic. In the process, he turned in the highest Equibase turf speed figure recorded so far this year.
“I’m extremely proud of Lagynos,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “He’s a colt that as a 3-year-old, ran in a lot of races, and had a lot of tough luck trips. He never gave up, but I do believe, you know, with this last two wins, he’s found a new level of confidence. You could see that, you know, he handled so nice for Jose, and when he asked him to run, ran through the wire.”
Lagynos has been a real star for Steve Asmussen. In addition to the Muniz Memorial, his wins include this year’s Grade 2 Fair Grounds Stakes as well as the 2024 Grade 3 Commonwealth Cup at Churchill Downs and last year’s Tapit Stakes at Kentucky Downs alongside a series of stakes placings. He is equally effective on turf and dirt.
He was bred by Robert Spiegel out of Steamy, by Speightstown.
