A moderate pace was of no great help to the favored Integration in the $300,000 Red Smith (G2) at Aqueduct on Saturday. But the four-year-old’s class kicked in at the right time inside the final furlong, as the Quality Road colt swallowed up both pacesetter Rebel Red and the veteran Limited Liability to win going away by two lengths.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Integration completed 1 3/8 miles on firm ground in a time of 2:13.28 and returned $4.50.
“[Prat] said he was kind of grinding the first part and then the last part he showed him another gear and finished up,” said Shug McGaughey, who trains Integration for West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing.
Limited Liability, also trained by McGaughey, nosed out Rebel Red for second. Trailing the field of nine was Master Piece, 10-1 upset winner of the 2023 Red Smith.
Bred in Kentucky by Larkin Armstrong and a $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, Integration did not make it to the races until August of his three-year-old season. After a dynamic debut win at Colonial Downs, Integration was pitched into the Virginia Derby (G3), which he duly won from multiple Grade 1 winner Program Trading. He capped his perfect season with a five-length score in the Hill Prince (G2).
Integration’s four-year-old campaign to date had not been as fruitful. Unplaced in two of his first three outings, all in Grade 1 company, Integration bounced back with a listed stakes win and a second in the Arlington Million (G1), both at Colonial. However, he was only a modest fourth last time when stepped up to 1 1/2 miles for the Kentucky Turf Cup (G2).
“I was disappointed in his race at Kentucky Downs,” McGaughey said. “He was down on the inside and had to check and go around when the running started and that’s a little bit hard to do.”
Integration, who has now won five of 10 starts and achieved millionaire status winning the Red Smith, was produced by Del Mar Oaks (G1) winner Harmonize, a daughter of Scat Daddy.
Deterministic capped a highly successful three-year-old season with a one-length triumph in the $200,000 Hill Prince (G3), his third graded stakes win of the season.
Favored against six rivals in the nine-furlong grass test, Deterministic raced in midpack early while never more than a couple of lengths off the lead. Improving position approaching the stretch, Deterministic seized the lead with a little more than a furlong to go and prevailed under Joel Rosario.
The Hill Prince followed earlier victories in the Gotham (G3) on dirt and Virginia Derby on grass for Deterministic, who placed in three other stakes this term, including the Saratoga Derby (G1).
“He’s won three graded stakes and it’s not easy to win three graded stakes in the same year,” said Christophe Clement, who trains the Liam’s Map colt for St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker, and Vicarage Stable.
“He’s been running all year long and he’s been working since January, so I think he deserves a break,” Clement added. “The smart thing to do is to give him a break and bring him back as a four-year-old and have a complete campaign in New York next year.”
Deterministic covered the course in 1:46.58 and paid $5.50. Cugino finished second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Royal Majesty.
The top two finishers in the $150,000 Aqueduct Turf Championship, Alogon and Works for Me, could not be separated at the finish of the six-furlong dash.
The dead-heating pair, who stalked and pounced their way to victory by a head over long-time pacesetter Jean Valjean, covered six furlongs in 1:08.42. Senbei, the 3-1 favorite, finished eighth in the field of 10.
Alogon, with Irad Ortiz Jr. aboard, paid $5.20, while Works for Me, with Dylan Davis up, returned $20.40.
Alogon, a five-year-old gelding by California Chrome, is a homebred campaigned by Charles Matses and is trained by Ned Allard. This was the third career stakes win for Alogon, who previously captured the Wolf Hill S. at Monmouth Park last season and the Parx Dash on Aug. 24.
Works for Me, a three-year-old New York-bred by Daddy Long Legs, is owned by KatieRich Stables, Christopher Connors, and Lawrence Appel. The Joe Lee trainee’s previous stakes success occurred last December, in the Notebook S. over Aqueduct’s main track.
