Shug McGaughey

4th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:38 p.m. ET. Bred by Stonehaven Steadings & Leah O'Meara, LESLIE'S HUMOR (Kantharos) makes the races for LSU Stables. Initially sold for $125,000 at the Keeneland September Sale, the chestnut RNA'd for $110,000 at OBS April before going for $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale in June. The second to race for La Titina (Distorted Humor), the 3-year-old filly's younger half-brother by Not This Time was purchased for $310,000 last September at Keeneland by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds. Granddam and MGISW Ask the Moon (Malibu...

7th-Gulfstream, $72,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 1-5, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.55, ft, neck. CHANGE OF COMMAND (c, 3, Into Mischief--Moi, by Medaglia d'Oro) made steady improvement over a trio of maiden attempts during the NYRA meets starting in late August--the last coming with a runner-up result at Aqueduct Nov. 4. Heading to Gulfstream, the bay found his stride to graduate by 6 1/2 lengths Dec. 17. Trying two turns for the first time, the 11-10 choice paced himself into the first turn just off of Cardinale (Speightstown). Shadowing the leader,...

Gulfstream Park's Saturday program will offer four stakes races-- three graded--including the GIII Harlan's Holiday S., a prep for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, and the GII Fort Lauderdale S., a prep for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. The Harlan's Holiday drew a field of 11, including last out GII Hagyard Fayette S. winner and 5-2 morning-line favorite O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman); last year's GII Remsen S. winner Dubyuhnell (Good Magic), who returned from the shelf with an optional claiming win at Keeneland Oct. 28; and the streaking...

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to [email protected] After all summer fighting in Saratoga with so much competition there, I think my biggest win was the GIII Virginia Derby with Integration for Shug McGaughey. That brightened up my summer and he got to come do it again at Aqueduct [in the GII Hill Prince S.] and I'm looking forward to staying on that horse in the future. --Kendrick Carmouche, jockey

Thoroughbred trainers Dale Romans, John Sadler and Shug McGaughey, plus racing and bloodstock manager Gavin Murphy, have joined the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)'s Horsemen's Advisory Group, the HISA  Authority announced via press release Tuesday. The advisory group is a body of racing industry participants formed by  the HISA Authority last year to provide formal feedback to the Authority 's executive team and Standing Committees on the implementation and evolution of its Racetrack Safety and Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) regulations. The four new members will replace outgoing Horsemen's...

His father had long since ceased training, but they still always stood at the same point by the Santa Anita paddock. "There was a spot there, where the horses come out from the saddling enclosure and make a right," Evan Ferraro recalls. "From there you could look at them straight on, so you could see their conformation, their joints, and my dad would point stuff out to me." And there was one filly by In Excess (Ire) that just blew the veteran horseman away: a Harris Farms homebred, saddled by...

1st-DMR, $61K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 3:30 p.m. ET. Bred by Bart Evans in partnership with Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch's Stonehaven Steadings, LLORONA (Mendelssohn) makes her first start for trainer Richard Mandella. The $750,000 KEESEP graduate is campaigned by Bart and Robert Evans. The MGSW & GISP Wasted Tears (Najran) is also responsible for champion 2-year-old colt Corniche (Quality Road). TJCIS PPS 5th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 2:14 p.m. ET. Courtlandt Farms purchased Whocouldaskformo (Uncle Mo) for $450,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. She debuts for Shug McGaughey...

Heavily favored to run his unbeaten streak to three, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing's Integration (Quality Road) made his off price of 4-5 look like an early Christmas gift, as he parlayed a perfect trip into a dominating victory in Saturday's $250,000 GII Hill Prince S. at Aqueduct. Away without incident from the three hole, the $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga graduate fell into the ideal spot from third, racing in clear air, as 65-1 Laurel Valley (Laoban) set a solid pace in advance of a headstrong Equitize (GB) (Kingman {GB}),...

West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing's Integration (Quality Road), a fast-closing upset winner of the GIII Virginia Derby at second asking Sept. 9, will put his perfect record on the line in Saturday's GII Hill Prince S. at Aqueduct. The $700,000 FTSAUG yearling graduate earned a 96 Beyer Speed Figure while defeating GI Saratoga Derby Invitational winner Program Trading (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the Colonial Downs centerpiece. "I thought he ran really good [last time]," trainer Shug McGaughey said. "I didn't know what to expect. It's not my...

It was 12 years ago this week that a young bloodstock agent found a mare for one of his first clients, deep in the November Sale at Keeneland. Mesa Fresca (Sky Mesa) had won a Belmont maiden in a light career, and Larkin Armstrong knew her family inside out. In fact, her own bloodlines ran almost parallel to his own, his father being a cousin of her dam's breeder Emory Hamilton. Raised the way he was, Armstrong could not fail to recognize this mare as King Ranch royalty, and was...

8th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 4:44 p.m. ET. Hammering down for $1.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, juvenile STOP THE PRESS (Uncle Mo) makes his debut for the ownership group led by West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing. After a sharp work for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey at the Belmont Park training track (Oct. 20, 4f, :48.34, 1/55), the bay colt comes to Keeneland primed for his debut. Out of Secret Sigh (Tapit), Stop the Press is a half-brother to Summer Wind Equine's horse-in-training Pippi...

The least experienced of the nine 3-year-olds signed on for Saturday's GIII New Kent County Virginia Derby, with only a maiden victory--albeit a smashing one--to his success, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing's Integration (c, 3, Quality Road--Harmonize, by Scat Daddy) grabbed heavily favored Program Trading (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) with less than a furlong to go and came away to an impressive victory in new course-record time. Well-backed at 67-10 despite his overall lack of seasoning, the $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga purchase took up a position in the latter...