OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Coming off a Saturday in which he had two wins and two seconds in stakes between New York and Kentucky, trainer Shug McGaughey will now turn his attention to South Florida for the winter.
Integration, winner of Saturday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Red Smith Stakes at Aqueduct, and Battle of Normandy, winner of the Grade 3, $300,000 River City Stakes at Churchill Downs, could both wind up in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 25, McGaughey said Sunday.
In addition to winning the Red Smith, McGaughey also sent out the runner-up in Limited Liability, who outfought Rebel Red by a nose for the place. Also at Aqueduct, McGaughey sent out Cugino to a runner-up finish behind favored Deterministic in the Grade 3 Hill Prince Stakes for 3-year-olds.
Integration, a 4-year-old son of Quality Road, earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure - his fourth such figure this year - in winning the Red Smith by two lengths. Last year, Integration won the Grade 3 Hill Prince at Aqueduct to end his 3-year-old season before making his 4-year-old debut in the Pegasus, in which he finished fifth, beaten 1 3/4 lengths.
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Integration went 2 for 7 as a 4-year-old and McGaughey felt the horse’s campaign got muddled by twice running over soft turf courses in Kentucky in the Grade 1 Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland and the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs.
McGaughey said Integration could run in the Pegasus and then he would monitor the weather in Kentucky before deciding whether to run in the Turf Classic on Derby Day or wait for the Grade 2 Man o’ War at Aqueduct, a race typically run the second week of May. Integration is 2 for 2 at Aqueduct.
McGaughey said he liked the way Integration finished in the 1 3/8-mile Red Smith.
“He was down on the inside, kind of grinding a little bit. When he got him outside he went on and finished well,” McGaughey said.
Limited Liability is more of a marathon-distance type horse and a race like the H. Allen Jerkens at two miles might have made sense. However, that race has been moved up on the calendar to Dec. 7 from Dec. 24 last year. A race like the Grade 3, $200,000 William L. McKnight at 1 1/2 miles on Jan. 25 could be an option.
Meanwhile, Battle of Normandy may join Integration in the Pegasus. The 4-year-old son of City of Light won his fourth consecutive turf race - all since McGaughey added blinkers - when he won the River City by 1 3/4 lengths over Reckoning Force.
McGaughey said the blinkers, as well as maturity, have played a role in Battle of Normandy’s recent success.
“He finds himself in the right spots,” McGaughey said. “The kid [Luan Machado] rode a great race on him yesterday. No pace, he had him laying right off that horse, when it came to go, he went.”
Battle of Normandy earned a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
Cugino earned a career-best 91 Beyer Sped Figure for his runner-up finish to Deterministic, a terrific rebound from his last-place finish in the Grade 3 Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs on Aug. 31. Cugino finished second in two runs over Gulfstream Park’s turf, which makes the $125,000 Tropical Park Derby on Dec. 14 a logical next start for the 3-year-old son of Twirling Candy.
“I thought he ran a good race, you just can’t give up that much ground,” McGaughey said.
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