Marling was a small, dark-coated bay filly with no white markings[1] bred by her owner, Edmund Loder at the family's Eyrefield Stud near the Curragh in County Kildare.
[2] She was probably the best racehorse sired by Lomond, an American-bred half-brother of Seattle Slew who won the 2000 Guineas in 1983 when trained in Ireland by Vincent O'Brien.
[7] After a break over three months, Marling returned to racecourse action in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket on 2 October.
Ridden by Steve Cauthen, Marling was held up in the early stages and struggled to obtain a clear run in the last quarter mile.
Ridden by the Irish veteran Pat Eddery, Marling moved up to challenge for the lead in the straight and got the better of a sustained struggle with Selkirk to win by a head.
In September she finished seventh of the nine runners behind Lahib in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot after weakening in the closing stages.
The plane carrying Marling to America encountered severe turbulence, leaving the filly frightened and unwilling to feed: Wragg said that the incident "didn't do her any good".