|
|
Marketing Mix back in form in Nassau
As Roxy Gap took over from Fantastic Cousin in the stretch, Marketing Mix was also on the march on the outside, and Inglorious was trying to make headway in traffic. Her jockey Luis Contreras came off the fence and hoped to come between Roxy Gap and Marketing Mix, but Leparoux held his path. Inglorious didn't have clear room, and by the time she did, she failed to punch home. Meanwhile, Marketing Mix drove past Roxy Gap to finish the mile in 1:37 2/5 and remain perfect in two starts over Woodbine's E.P. Taylor Turf Course. "We got a good post (7), so we could do whatever we wanted," Leparoux said. "I just wanted her to leave there and be relaxed. That's why we dropped off the pace a little bit. "The long straight here helped her a lot. We just kind of tracked and she finished good for me." "She was very impressive because she had to give four pounds and six pounds to those horses," Bernick said of the 122-pound highweight. The 21-1 Indian Pond rallied from last for third, just a half-length behind Roxy Gap, her stablemate from the Mark Casse barn. Inglorious checked in another 1 1/2 lengths back in fourth, followed by Fantastic Cousin and Forest Uproar. Skylara was scratched. Marketing Mix's fourth career stakes score improved her record to 12-6-2-1, $793,600. Last year, the Medaglia d'Oro filly was a familiar face on Woodbine's Polytrack, finishing runner-up to Roxy Gap in the Fury Stakes, third to Inglorious in the Woodbine Oaks and fourth in the Bison City Stakes. Marketing Mix subsequently switched to turf and found her true home. After dominating the Wonder Where by 4 3/4 lengths and the Grade 3 Pucker Up by 3 1/4 lengths, she finished second, but best of the American-based fillies, in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland. The dark bay wrapped up the season with a comprehensive success in the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere. Marketing Mix kicked off 2012 on a winning note in a tough Keeneland allowance, beating Inglorious and Hungry Island. The form was reversed at Churchill, when Hungry Island sprang a mild upset. Bernick revealed that Marketing Mix will look to keep her momentum going at Woodbine. "She's going to stay up here and run in the Dance Smartly (Grade 2 on July 8), then hopefully come back later," Bernick said. "It's a great series of races here for older mares and we hope to run in all of them." Bred by Sean Fitzhenry in Ontario, Marketing Mix was purchased by her current connections for $150,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. She was produced by the Kris S. mare Instant Thought, and her second dam, the multiple Grade/Group 3-placed Nimble Mind, is a full sister to multiple Grade 2 heroine Skimble, the dam of two-time Grade 1 Pacific Classic star Skimming. This is also the family of Grade 1 winner Contredance; Group 2 scorer and multiple Grade 1-placed Eltish; and Group 1 One Thousand Guineas victress Wince, the dam of Group 1 queen and classic-placed Quiff. Two races earlier at Woodbine, Contreras had better luck aboard Frank D. Di Giulio Jr.'s homebred Anywhere, who captured her stakes debut in the $120,064 Ballade Stakes. Sent off as the 5-2 favorite, the Robert Tiller trainee stalked and pounced her way to a 1 1/4-length decision over Weekend Romance. Anywhere sped six furlongs on the Polytrack in 1:09 to advance her record to 6-4-2-0, $202,830. The four-year-old daughter of Where's the Ring opened her career last fall with a three-race winning streak, but had missed narrowly in a couple of allowances so far in her four-year-old campaign. "She's been very unlucky her last two starts," Tiller said of the Ontario-bred, who has been the favorite in all but one of her starts. "She really wants to relax a bit in those sprint races. She got a perfect post (8) today. She ran her race today. She was a very fresh horse, who went and got it done." Bet the Belmont Stakes at TwinSpires.com
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
