Sweet Bye and Bye tries for breakthrough in Noble Damsel

ELMONT, N.Y. – Sweet Bye and Bye has won 7 of 16 starts, but she is still in search of her first non-restricted stakes victory. She tries to achieve that in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Noble Damsel Stakes at Belmont.

Sweet Bye and Bye is coming off a neck victory in a stakes-caliber allowance at Saratoga, her second start this year for trainer Tony Dutrow. She has made one other start this year, in January for Steve Klesaris. Sweet Bye and Bye actually made her first career start for Dutrow in 2017, finishing third at Saratoga.

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In 2018, owner-breeder Joe Imbesi sent the Pennsylvania-bred filly to Klesaris, who is based at Parx Racing, to go through her statebred conditions. She not only did that, but she finished second in the Grade 3 Athenia here last fall and third in the Forever Together at Aqueduct.

“Stevie did a wonderful job with her,” Dutrow said. “She’s mature now and in great shape.”

Sweet Bye and Bye finished third in a 5 1/2-furlong race at Saratoga this past summer before winning her allowance race going a mile, the same distance as the Noble Damsel. In that allowance race, she defeated Blowout, who is back in this field as one of three Chad Brown-trained runners. Brown also entered Viadera and Noor Sahara, who finished 1-2 in the De La Rose Stakes at Saratoga.

Also entered in the Noble Damsel were Chaleur, Atomic Blonde, Lemon Zip, Feel Glorious, and Getmotherarose. Another Broad was entered for the main track.