Cugino had quite a bit to do at the top of the stretch against just 3 rivals in Monmouth Park’s Red Bank Stakes on Sunday, but he delivered on a confident ride from Samuel Marin and scored by one length, securing his third stakes win.
Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey said, “I was really pleased with the way the whole thing worked out and it wound up being a nice spot to pick up another stakes win and that will get him into the fall.”
“I wasn’t worried about a lack of pace because when he broke out of the gate he broke sharp so I let him roll out of there and then I knew we had to be patient,” said Marin. “By the time we hit the third quarter we were rolling.
“Any time you ride the best horse you ride with more confidence. I was patient because I knew he was the best horse in the race.”
Cugino returned to New York and Shug is inclined to point him for the $250,000 Red Smith Stakes (G2T) run at a mile and three-eighths on the turf on Sunday, November 2 at Aqueduct, as a potential bridge to the Pegasus Turf Cup (G1T) on Saturday, January 26 at Gulfstream Park.
The son of Twirling Candy won the Audubon Stakes at Churchill and the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream as a 3-year-old in 2024. Gage Hill Stables and W. S. Farish bred the colt out of Adorable Miss, by Kitten’s Joy. West Point and co-owner Jimmy Kahig Racing acquired him as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale. Cugino owns 5 wins from 12 career starts and $623,910 in earnings.
