Canadian Horse of the Year Pink Lloyd won as easily as expected in the US$96,500 Achievement Stakes, but he went through his share of drama June 3 at Woodbine to bring home his 11th straight stakes win.
Off at 1-20 in a four-horse field, Entourage Stable's Old Forester gelding reared at the start—nearly sending jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva out of the saddle—but got out well enough to get to the front of the field in the six-furlong sprint for Ontario-breds.
But he was not without an early challenge. Second-choice (20-1) Lokinforpursemonee immediately pressed Pink Lloyd on the inside, and the fractions were swift. The first quarter went in :21.82 as Lokinforpursemonee held a half-length advantage, but by the time they reached the quarter pole with a half-mile time of :44.58, Pink Lloyd opened up a one-length lead.
With a quick tap of the whip from da Silva at the top of the lane, Pick Lloyd kicked well clear, and the jockey continued on to the wire with a hand ride aboard the 6-year-old gelding. Conquest Lemonraid made a late bid to get second but was no threat to the winner, who galloped to the wire and finished three lengths ahead. After the victory, da Silva took one hand off the reins and repeatedly pointed down to his horse.
"He's half-horse, half-freak," said winning trainer Robert Tiller. "He just wants to run. He wants to go after them, and you (saw Lokinforpursemonee's jockey) Rafael (Hernandez) do a little :44 and change half to try to get us beat, but that's horse racing.
"He won with his ears up, eased, and he didn't have any horses left to run at. I'm so proud of him. This horse put a huge hole in my heart. I'm so in love with him. I really, truly am. I'm so affected by this horse."
The win in 1:09 pushed Pink Lloyd's earnings to US$817,284, and he has a 14-1-0 record from 16 starts. His stakes win streak began in April 2017 when he took the Jacques Cartier Stakes, and it includes graded scores in the Vigil (G3) and Kennedy Road (G2). All of his starts have been over the Woodbine synthetic main track.
"We're enjoying this run," Tiller said. "It's going to end one day. I've said it many times, but, you know, the party is still on."
Bred by Jon Carey, out of the Great Gladiator mare Gladiator Queen, Pink Lloyd was a $28,446 purchase out of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (Ontario Division) Canadian-bred yearling sale in 2013.
