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."

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