Inner turf talent Miss Vyvyanne ready for Grade 2 Highlander test
At 9h43, on June 27, 2026 • By Chris Lomon, Woodbine
Miss Vyvyanne will look to make it five consecutive wins on the Woodbine inner turf when she takes on six rivals in Saturday’s $200,000 bet365 Highlander Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine.
Owned by Ralph R. Murray and Calstar Farm, the 6-year-old daughter of Rainbow Heir out of the Half Ours mare Caribean Beat has shown a flair for running on the Toronto oval’s inner turf course, claiming four straight scores on it.
The Gail Cox trainee launched that win streak with a pair of 5-furlong scores last June and followed those up with victories in August and October, also at 5 panels.
Miss Vyvyanne will once again race at the same distance on Saturday in the race for 4-year-olds and up.
“I think it’s the sharper turns [on the inner] that she enjoys,” said Cox. “She handles them so well, she kicks away down the lane and the stretch is shorter. So, when you put all those factors together, I think it just suits her in every way possible. She truly is a five-eighths horse. Could she go longer if she had to? If the set-up was right, I’m sure she could, but she thrives at five-eighths on the smaller turf courses. She has a very efficient stride on the turf.”
Claimed for $32,000 last June by Cox and Murray out of her second consecutive victory against optional claiming fillies at Woodbine, Miss Vyvyane was then fifth against second condition, $50,000 optional claiming filles on the main track on Aug. 31. She then rhymed off four consecutive wins, including a 2 ¾-length victory going 5 furlongs on the Gulfstream synthetic on Mar. 14.
“We’ve been very conservative with where we’ve run her, but I felt she was moving better when we got her to Florida. She just kept on improving from there.”
Miss Vyvyanne capped off her quartet of winner’s circle trips with a 1 ½-length triumph in the Golden Beach overnight handicap at Gulfstream on Apr.11. She covered 5 furlongs over ‘good’ turf in :55.52.
“She ran huge in Florida,” praised Cox. “She loves the track there. We had sent her home for a vacation when the turf season ended here at Woodbine, and she came back better than ever.”
The chestnut mare arrives at her first graded assignment off a second to Little Teddy, who won the 2025 Sovereign Award as Canada’s Champion Female Sprinter, in a 5-furlong main track race on May 9.
“She’s doing great,” said Cox. “When you watch her run, you don’t think she is going as fast as she is. The one thing you always get with her is an honest effort. She is a great example of a horse who tries no matter where she runs.”
Bred in Florida by Tom McCrocklin and Gerald Martin, Miss Vyvyanne is 11-3-1 ($420,431) from 24 starts.
