BY WOODBINE PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
TORONTO—Graded stakes winning Florida-bred Miss Vyvyanne takes on seven rivals in Saturday’s CA$125,000 Sweet Briar Too at Woodbine.
Trained by Gail Cox for owners Ralph R. Murray and Calstar Farm, the 6-year-old daughter of Rainbow Heir out of the Half Ours mare Caribean Beat has excelled over the inner turf course, recording five consecutive wins on it, but will shift her talents to the E.P. Taylor turf in the six-furlong feature for fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and older.
“There is a lot to like about her,” Cox said. “If I had to land on one thing that stands out is that she is wickedly fast. And that is so nice to have in a horse. And when you watch her run, it doesn’t seem like she is overly exerting herself. She has a very fluid stride and a very good mind. She is typically fast out of the gate and then she can get into stride very quickly.”
Miss Vyvyanne launched her inner-turf winning streak with a pair of five-furlong scores last June before adding victories in August and October, also at five furlongs.
The streak was punctuated by an impressive two-length triumph in the Highlander Stakes (G2) on June 27.
“It was such a strong performance,” said Cox, who claimed the horse for $32,000 last June out of a victory, her second straight at the time, against first level optional claiming fillies at Woodbine. “She was strong throughout and she kept on going. She was confident from the get-go and she just carried on with it.”
Fifth in last year’s Sweet Briar Too for different connections, Miss Vyvyanne enters this year’s edition off a sixth-place finish in the US$200,000 Smart and Fancy at Saratoga Race Course. Contested over yielding five-and-a-half furlongs on the turf at Saratoga on Aug. 14, Cox said Miss Vyvyanne did not take well to that course.
“She was bobbling the whole way,” Cox said. “The turf was very soft and she couldn’t stand up on it. So that was that. She travelled very well there and back; she is just so professional and easy and she is doing well.”
Miss Vyvyanne has raced on the E.P. Taylor turf before, including a seven-and-a-quarter-length victory at six furlongs, for different connections in October of 2023.
“It is such a long stretch and it feels like it goes on forever at certain times,” Cox said. “Obviously, she has run well on it, and hopefully, she is able to carry her speed over it. There was an opportunity to race at Keeneland, but we looked at this race, and as long as the turf isn’t soft or yielding, we should be fine.”
Bred in Florida by Tom McCrocklin and Gerald Martin, Miss Vyvyanne has compiled a record of 12 wins with three seconds and a third and earnings of $507,971 from 26 starts. She is out of Half Ours mare Caribean Beat.
Miss Vyvyanne will start from stall four and is the 8-5 morning line favorite. Emma-Jayne Wilson will ride Miss Vyvyanne for the first time since September of 2024 when she was aboard for seven of the first 11 races of the fillies’ carreer.
Set to line up against Miss Vyvyanne are Quardruple (GB) and jockey Ryan Munger, Sahin Civaci rides Orderofthephoenix (Ire), Without Cause with Rafael Hernandez in the irons, Fraser Aebly will guide Z Z’s, Uphill Dance will team with rider Jose Campos, Rajiv Maragh has the call on Lost and Found and Epic Style will have Pietro Moran as her pilot.
Return to the September 18 issue of Wire to Wire
