Graded stakes winner Miss Vyvyanne takes on seven rivals in Saturday’s $125,000 Sweet Briar Too Stakes at Woodbine.
Trained by Gail Cox for owners Ralph R. Murray and Calstar Farm, the six-year-old daughter of Rainbow Heir out of the Half Ours mare Caribean Beat, who has excelled over the Toronto oval’s inner turf course, recording five consecutive wins on it, will now shift her talents to the E.P. Taylor turf in the six-furlong feature for fillies and mares, three-year-olds and up.
“There is a lot to like about her,” said Cox. “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 (G2T) on June 27.
“It was such a strong performance,” said Cox, who claimed the horse for $32,000 last June out of her second consecutive victory against 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.”
Miss Vyvyanne enters the Sweet Briar Too – she finished fifth in the 2024 edition for different connections – off a sixth-place finish in the 5 ½-furlong Smart and Fancy Stakes, contested over yielding turf at Saratoga on Aug. 14.
“She was bobbling the whole way,” said Cox. “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 7 ¼-length victory at six furlongs, for different connections, on Oct. 28, 2023.
“It is such a long stretch, and it feels like it goes on forever at certain times,” said Cox. “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 12-3-1 and purse earnings of $507,971 from 26 starts. Carlos Balbuena is her groom.
Recent works: Miss Vyvyanne covered four furlongs in a bullet :48.00 over the Woodbine turf training track on Sept. 11.
“She came out of the last race doing great and I was really impressed with her latest work,” said Cox. “She just did it so easily and galloped strongly as well.”
Fast facts: Winter Garden, a multiple graded stakes winner for trainer Bob Tiller and owner Frank Di Giulio, Jr., won the inaugural edition in 2004. Moonlit Promise won back-to-back runnings of the race, in 2017 and 2018. Oujda (FR) won last year’s edition.
Wagering menu for the Sweet Briar Too: Rolling Double / Exacta / 0.20 Trifecta / 0.20 Superfecta / 0.20 Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10) / 0.20 Pick 4 (Races 8-9-10-11) / $1 Swinger.
Field for the $125,000 Sweet Briar Too
Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Quadruple (GB) – Ryan Munger – Josie Carroll
2 – Orderofthephoenix (IRE) – Sahin Civaci – Mark Casse
3 – Without Cause – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
4 – Miss Vyvyanne – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Gail Cox
5 – ZZ’s – Fraser Aebly – Josie Carroll
6 – Uphill Dance – Jose Campos – Rachel Halden
7 – Lost and Found – Romero Ramsay Maragh – Brittany Russell
8 – Epic Style – Pietro Moran – Michael Stidham
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