Audubon Beats Cugino of West Point in a Gate-to-Wire Victory

Since breaking his maiden at first asking at Aqueduct in November, Cugino has been pounding on the door of a stakes victory for Shug McGaughey. He finished second in the Colonel Liam S. at Gulfstream in March and the GIII Transylvania S. at Keeneland in April after losing three starts earlier this year by a length, a neck, and a nose. Despite being caught far back in the previous race, he managed to come back in his first blinkers to finish fourth on Derby Day last month in the GII American Turf S. Adding just a little bit more distance on Saturday, Flavien Prat rode the 5-2 second choice powerfully out of the gate and was never really challenged. He kept a significant lead on the field through fractions of :23.83 and :48.17 before sprinting home to be by himself on the wire.

“I think the blinkers have helped him keep focus and has made him step up his game,” stated assistant trainer Reeve McGaughey. “We put them on him last time and he ran a good race but I think the inside post today helped him a little more.”