Short-priced Over the Edge seeks first stakes win

It's almost as if Over the Edge is a triple-A ballplayer, waiting to reach a pre-determined milestone before being called up to the big leagues.

"We're just trying to make her a stakes winner," said assistant trainer Jack Bohannan, "and then we'll take it from there."

Indeed, Over the Edge almost seems miscast as a regular of the winter circuit at Turfway Park, the Florence, Ky., track where she will run in the $50,000 Cincinnati Trophy Stakes on Saturday. After earning an eye-opening 98 Beyer Speed Figure in winning her Nov. 16 career debut at Churchill Downs, Over the Edge was the 3-5 favorite in her only subsequent start, the Dec. 23 Gowell Stakes at Turfway, where she had a brutal trip before finishing second to Miss A. Bomb.

"We thought she was the best horse in the race, and the chart pretty much read into that," said Bohannan.

After tracking the front-runners in the six-furlong Gowell, Over the Edge was checked sharply midway through the far turn, then was steadied again before being forced to alter course in the stretch. She finished full of run but just missed catching the winner.

Bohannan will be filling in Saturday for trainer Rusty Arnold, who is in south Florida with the stable's first string. If Over the Edge wins on Saturday - and she will be heavily favored to do so - she may be shipped south for the balance of the winter, Bohannan said.