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Fab Four Take Stage Saturday / Friday, November 8, 2024

Four stakes runners in four hours make for an exciting fall Saturday afternoon for West Point Thoroughbreds, spread between New York City, Louisville and Toronto.

Integration, just shy of $1-million in career earnings, is the 2-to-1 morning-line favorite for the $300,000 Red Smith Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct. The 4-year-old colt captured the Grade 2 Hill Prince over the same course at the Big A last fall for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

Cugino will defend that title for Shug and West Point earlier on the Big A card in the $200,000 Hill Prince for straight 3-year-olds.

Flavien Prat will be in the irons on both Integration and Cugino, a week after capturing both the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and Filly and Mare Turf (G1). Listed at 5-to-2, Cugino and Prat captured the Audubon Stakes together at Churchill Downs in the spring.

Shug also will send out Cugino’s older half brother, Battle of Normandy, in the $300,000 River City Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. Battle of Normandy will be shooting for his fourth straight victory, this time paired with jockey Vincent Cheminaud.

North of the border, Gal in a Rush is the 3-to-1 favorite for the Bessarabian Stakes (G3) on the synthetic track at Woodbine. Romero Maragh will take the reins on Gal in a Rush, who previously shipped north to win the Grade 3 Hendrie Stakes at Woodbine in July for trainer Christophe Clement.



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