River Downs: Turf suits Marketable

Marketable, a stakes winner in Ohio in 2004, has had a disappointing season this year, losing three of her four starts by at least 12 lengths.

Those races were on the dirt, however, and it is the talent she displayed in her other start, the Tomboy Stakes on the turf, which will make her a strong favorite to win the $40,000 Cincinnatian Stakes at River Downs.

The Cincinnatian, run at 1 1/16 miles, is restricted to accredited Ohio-bred 3-year-old fillies, which means the starters must be both sired and foaled in Ohio. The restriction of being Ohio-sired excludes many of the statebred fillies who raced in the Tomboy.

In the Tomboy, Marketable rallied from 10th to finish second by a length to Flip Side, who currently ranks as the leading filly in Ohio. Marketable earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 72 that day, a figure more than 20 points higher than her career best on the dirt.

None of the other members of the Cincinnatian field has displayed a similar fondness for the turf, though one can lay claim to being the most accomplished member of the field. Noon Win is a four-time stakes winner, but she has failed to show her best beyond six furlongs. Noon Win started as the favorite in the Tomboy, but bobbled leaving the gate and never reached contention.

From a pedigree perspective, Annie's Award, by 1991 Manhattan Handicap winner Academy Award, may show the most improvement by the switch to turf.