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Integration, Battle of Normandy Double Up for Shug McGaughey in Grade 1 Manhattan / Friday, June 5, 2026

West Point Thoroughbreds will send out a pair of contenders Saturday in the Grade 1, $1-million Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, as Integration and Battle of Normandy both look to turn the tables on reigning Manhattan winner Deterministic.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, the duo arrive at the prestigious 1 3/16-mile turf test off strong recent efforts against top competition. The Manhattan is scheduled as Race 12 on the Belmont Stakes Day program and will air nationally on FOX and FS1.

Integration (12-1 morning line) returns to the race that produced a heartbreaker last year. Last June, the son of Quality Road appeared poised to capture his first Grade 1 victory before being denied by just a head by Deterministic in the Manhattan. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez will be in the irons again with Integration on Saturday looking for a different outcome. The Hall of Fame combination of McGaughey and Velazquez prevailed together once before in the Manhattan with Point of Entry in 2011. Shug has won the Manhattan three times overall.

Integration enters Saturday off a sharp allowance victory at Belmont at the Big A on May 7. He has earned more than $1 million and has consistently held his own against the division’s elite.

While Integration seeks redemption from last year’s Manhattan, stablemate Battle of Normandy (20-1) brings perhaps the freshest form line.

The son of City of Light finished a determined second in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy Stakes on May 2, beaten only one-half length by Deterministic after a strong stretch run. That effort convinced McGaughey to take another swing at Grade 1 company.

Dylan Davis retains the mount aboard Battle of Normandy, who has steadily developed into a reliable graded-stakes performer. He captured the Grade 3 River City Stakes at Churchill Downs and has finished first or second in three of his last four starts.

Both McGaughey runners will have to contend with a deep field headed by Deterministic, who enters off four consecutive victories and seeks to defend his Manhattan title.

West Point also has Vibe in line for Saturday’s Metropolitan Handicap, stepping all the way up to one of the most prestigious races in the country after stringing together three straight wins. He is 15-to-1 on the line for jockey Luis Saez and trainer Todd Pletcher, carrying low weight of 118 pounds in the $1-5-million, Grade 1 Met Mile.



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