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Marketing Mix captures Pucker Up

Marketing Mix flew home in the Pucker Up (Four Footed Fotos) Glen Hill Farm's MARKETING MIX (Medaglia d'Oro) was content to stalk the pacesetting Love Dare (Osidy) in Saturday's $100,000 Pucker Up S. (G3) before grabbing command in upper stretch and pulling away to score by 3 1/4 lengths under jockey Junior Alvarado. The Tom Proctor trainee ran 1 1/8 miles on the firm Arlington Park turf in 1:49 1/5 to take her graded debut. "They were expecting a big race out of her and she didn't disappoint," Alvarado said. "I just wanted to make her relax and be comfortable. She broke well and relaxed right away behind the speed. At the quarter-pole, I asked her and she responded. The rest was kind of easy." Sent off the 6-5 favorite against a full field of 14 sophomore fillies, Marketing Mix stalked just to the outside of Love Dare through splits of :23, :48 2/5 and 1:13 1/5. Once given her cue by Alvarado, the dark bay miss quickly wrested the lead away and began pulling off, easily holding Sea Level Drive (Malibu Moon) to second on the wire.

"Fourteen horses and (6-5) odds and that's a lot of pressure," said Craig Bernick representing winning owner Glen Hill Farm. "Two races on the grass and she's won pretty well both times. We always thought she'd do well on grass. She's a Canadian-bred and the purses up there are huge so we ran her on (Polytrack) a few times."

Marketing Mix paid $4.60, $3.80 and $3.40 for the victory. Sea Level Drive, who kept in close attendance to the front runners on the backstretch, was a half-length clear of third-placer Maid of Heaven (Empire Maker) on the wire.

"I'm tickled to death," said trainer Leigh Bentley, who was saddling her first ever stakes starter in Sea Level Drive. "I knew this filly was a nice one and she did us proud."

"We did everything right," added the filly's jockey, Corey Lanerie. "We just tried to follow (Marketing Mix) all the way around. We got in a little bit of traffic turning for home but I don't think we were going to beat the winner anyway. She's a nice horse."

Summer Savory (Horse Chestnut [SAf]) followed by three parts of a length in fourth, while the field was completed by Barbies M (Afleet Alex), Artemus Kitten (Kitten's Joy), Angelica Zapata (Sharp Humor), Santina Dond (El Prado [Ire]), Trac N Jam (El Corredor), Triune (E Dubai), Seans Silverdancer (Najran), Happy Choice (Broken Vow), Don't Tell Sophia (Congaree) and Love Dare.

Marketing Mix is now two-for-two on turf (Four Footed Fotos) Marketing Mix opened her career on the dirt at Gulfstream Park, running sixth in March, before Proctor shipped her to Kentucky for Keeneland's spring meet. The sophomore lass eked out a head victory against maiden rivals on the Polytrack and continued her travels north when sent to Woodbine for the Fury S. just 20 days later. Marketing Mix was gaining late in that contest before settling for second, and went on to add a third in the Woodbine Oaks and a close fourth in the Bison City S. to her line in her next two. The dark bay miss finally broke through with a first stakes win while making her grass debut in the Wonder Where S. at Woodbine on July 31, and improved her line to 7-3-1-1, $341,945, in this return to competition. Bred in Ontario, Canada, by Sean Fitzhenry, Marketing Mix sold for $150,000 to her current connections at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She is out of the Kris S. mare Instant Thought, who has since produced an unraced juvenile colt named House of Dreams (Rahy) and an unnamed yearling colt by Broken Vow.

Marketing Mix's second dam is multiple Grade 3-placed Nimble Mind (Lyphard), who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Contredance (Danzig), Grade 3 scorer Shotiche (Northern Dancer), Grade 2-placed listed victor Old Alliance (Danzig) and Nimble Feet (Danzig). The latter is the dam of Group 2-winning sire Eltish (Cox's Ridge), who ran second in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), and Grade 3 hero Forest Gazelle (Green Forest).

Nimble Mind is a full sister to Grade 2 heroine Skimble and Flit. Skimble would go on in the breeding shed to produce Skimming (Nureyev), back-to-back winner of the Pacific Classic (G1) (2000-01). Flit is responsible for 1999 English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) queen Wince (Selkirk), who in turn would foal 2004 Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-G1) victress and St Leger S. (Eng-G1) second Quiff (Sadler's Wells).

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