4 in 44 moves
playstrategy.org/uxRbBd2X

playstrategy.org/ZX95XXwc
I thought it might have been better but in the end it's just the same: 4 in 44 moves...

1

I think i just got lucky when i first tried out the 4-rank strat and immediatly got the 44.
This tells me that with enough effort one can surely squeeze out more moves but the road gets tighter.

Like if somebody can overcome the connected-4-tiles in blacks territory then we will have a new record.

4 in 43 moves
playstrategy.org/VnPyDSGL