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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer Shug McGaughey announced on Tuesday that the undefeated 3YO, Integration, is highly anticipated to compete in the upcoming US$1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf scheduled for 27th January.
“I’m going to pencil it in. We’ll see how it comes up and how he’s doing. It’s a good possibility,” McGaughey said.
Integration, who is a son of Quality Road, has an unbeaten record of 3 wins in 3 races. He has won the Gr.3 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs and the Group Two Hill Prince at Aqueduct. His victory in the Hill Prince race is noteworthy as he equaled a 38YO record on turf course.
Trainer McGaughey had initially planned to retire Integration after the Hill Prince race and prepare him for major turf stakes in the spring. However, Integration's current form is too good to be ignored, and he seems to be in excellent shape to continue racing.
“You hate to stop right now, they can go the wrong way on you in a hurry,” McGaughey said. “He’s taking his races really well. His races have been well-spaced, and the time in between races doesn’t seem to bother him. All that works in his favor.”
As of Tuesday, McGaughey had not made a final decision, but it appeared that he was more inclined towards having Signator run in the US$150,000 Queens County Stakes at Aqueduct on 31st December. Signator has won two straight allowance races at Aqueduct and McGaughey may opt for this race instead of the Gr.3 Harlan's Holiday Stakes at Gulfstream on the previous day.