A class boost and increased distance did not faze Bach Stables' Bye Bye, who won by a neck in the $100,000 Soaring Softly Stakes (G3T) May 15 at Belmont Park.
The Into Mischief daughter came into the seven furlongs over the Widener turf course for 3-year-old fillies off a sharp debut on grass for trainer Christophe Clement. She broke her maiden at second asking by 2 3/4 lengths going five furlongs at Gulfstream Park March 21. She made her career debut on the dirt Feb. 7 at the South Florida oval, finishing sixth.
Exiting the outermost post under Eric Cancel in the 11-horse field Saturday, Bye Bye broke on top, but took back slightly in the compact field as 64-1 longshot Lexinator commanded a swift opening quarter in :22.61 over the firm turf with Star Devine to her outside in second.
As the field entered the far turn, a keen Bye Bye moved into third to the outside of the two frontrunners through a half-mile in :45.62. As Lexinator dropped out of contention, Star Devine found herself on the lead as Cancel was on an all-out drive aboard Bye Bye with Candace O launching her bid in between horses. At the eighth pole, Bye Bye took command and held off a late rally from Invincible Gal to win by a neck in a final time of 1:21.19.
It was another neck back to third-place finisher Candace O. Star Devine was fourth and favored Tobys Heart was fifth.
Clement expressed some concern with the outside post.
"I'm a firm believer in saving ground, but there's only so much we can do," Clement said. "She was wide all the way, but she was good enough to overcome it. Eric did the best he could. We knew she was nice and now we know she is very nice. She went from five to seven-eighths very well. This was a very good performance. It's exciting.
"We might try to make her a miler but not too much further than that. I'll need to think about it a little bit. Let's enjoy the moment and go on from there."
Cancel said he was impressed with the winning effort from Bye Bye.
"This filly is talented. I wasn't expecting this type of performance for her first time going seven furlongs," Cancel said. "She kept on trying and never gave up on me, so as long as she was there for me, I was going to still be there for her and it just worked out well. I think she'll just keep on improving. Christophe knows what he's doing with her, and I just hope everything keeps on going the right way."
Bye Bye ($19) increased her bankroll to $82,400. She was a $140,000 purchase by Kinsman from the Vinery Sales consignment to the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Bred in Kentucky by Malibu Farm, Bye Bye is the second foal and first winner out of the Smart Strike mare Garnet, a granddaughter of multiple grade 1 winner Dream Supreme. Garnet is also the dam of a yearling Bolt d'Oro filly and was bred to Goldencents for 2021.
