Almost Famous breaks out for Byrne with 102 Beyer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Pat Byrne came within a single vote of earning the Eclipse Award for outstanding trainer in 1997, but that degree of success mostly has eluded him in the intervening years.

So no wonder Byrne has been smiling the last few days in the aftermath of a 3-year-old colt named Almost Famous breaking out with a 102 Beyer Speed Figure in an allowance romp Memorial Day weekend at Churchill Downs.

“I’m feeling really good about him,” said Byrne. “I’ve always said he’s a good colt. That kind of number is pretty hard to come by.”

Almost Famous, owned by Chuck and Maribeth Sandford, will run June 14 in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes on the Stephen Foster night card. The 1 1/16-mile race is expected to feature Tapiture as one of the other favorites.

Byrne said “a nice run” in the Winn could lead to the July 27 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth, which “in a perfect world could have us thinking about the Travers. We went through some frustration with him over the winter, but I really think we have him turned back around now.”