Byrama puts her stamp on Vanity

Byrama will stay on synthetic tracks for a time following her Vanity score (Benoit Photos) Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Byrama earned her first graded win in style on Saturday when capturing the Grade 1, $250,250 Vanity Handicap by 3 1/2 lengths over More Chocolate. The British-bred daughter of Byron hadn’t visited the winner’s circle since scoring in the Unzip Me Stakes last September, but got her photo taken after finishing 1 1/8 miles on the Cushion Track in 1:51 2/5. In the process, the Simon Callaghan-trained four-year-old continued the remarkable comeback of Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens. The experienced reinsman settled Byrama on the rail as Royal Tiger and Esentepe gunned to the front when the gates opened on the Vanity. Royal Tiger took the lead through fractions of :23 2/5 and :47, and not long after Esentepe swiftly began backing up in the field. Byrama ranged up on the outside of Royal Tiger exiting the backstretch, but found company as More Chocolate began her move rounding the turn as well. Byrama and More Chocolate left Royal Tiger behind down the lane, with the former easily holding her more fancied rival to add a third stakes win to her resume. The bay miss paid $14, $6.20 and $3 as the 6-1 fifth choice in the six-distaffer field.

“Just a great race for this filly,” Stevens said. “Distance was the question. We
didn’t have any cover going around the first turn and I was a little worried
about that, but then she settled in well into a real nice rhythm.

“Actually, I made her kick a little earlier than I would
have liked. Her run is only about an eighth of a mile and I had to use her
between the quarter-pole and the eighth-pole and she was able to float home the
last sixteenth of a mile.

“She put (More Chocolate) away and nobody else was really
running. She’s a wonderful filly. She probably deserved to win the Madison at
Keeneland and we are probably going to get some more Grade 1 wins with her.”

More Chocolate held second over 8-5 favorite Lady of Fifty, while Royal
Tiger, Open Water and Esentepe completed the order under the wire.

“I thought she was going to win on the turn, we got really
excited at the quarter-pole,” said More Chocolate’s trainer, John Sadler. “She might have hung just a little
bit. It was a good second for her first time on synthetic.”

Byrama improved her record to read 5-4-6 from 19 career starts and has now
banked $484,751. The four-year-old filly, who also captured the Manhattan Beach
last year, boasts eight stakes placings, including a rallying neck second in the
Madison two back on the turf at Keeneland. In fact, Byrama was making just her
third non-turf start in the Vanity, having also run sixth last out in the Humana
Distaff on Churchill Downs’ dirt and second in the C.E.R.F. Stakes over Del
Mar’s Polytrack last September.

Callaghan said he will keep Byrama on
artificial tracks in the immediate future.

“She loves the synthetic, so we’ll definitely keep her on
that,” he said. “It’s great to get a Grade 1 win with her because, respectfully,
she was the best filly that day at Keeneland and to get it done today is
fantastic.”

Bred by Ermyn Lodge Stud Limited in Great Britain, Byrama was a $13,060 RNA
at the 2011 Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale. She is out of the winning Darshaan mare
Aymara, making her a half-sister to Group 3 scorer Klammer, and her second dam
is Group 3-placed listed winner Chipaya.

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