HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – After briefly flirting with a trip to Dubai, the connections of Integration, runner-up in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream on Jan. 25, have decided to remain stateside and point toward the Grade 1, $650,000 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland on April 11 – weather permitting.
Last year, Integration finished third in the Maker’s Mark Mile, a race run over yielding turf.
“He was third on a track he hated,” trainer Shug McGaughey said.
McGaughey said if Integration doesn’t run in the Maker’s Mark, races like Grade 1, $1 million Turf Classic at Churchill on May 3 or the Grade 2, $400,000 Man o’ War on May 10 would be considered.
Integration, who won the Grade 2 Red Smith at Aqueduct last November, most recently was beaten a neck by Spirit of St Louis in the Pegasus World Cup Turf.
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