Kingsport takes Shepperton Stakes, ending Pink Lloyd's win streak

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Pink Lloyd’s 11-race win streak in Woodbine stakes came to an end in the $100,000 Shepperton on Sunday, when Kingsport rallied stoutly to win the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for the second time in the past three years.

Pink Lloyd and Boreal Spirit dueled through fractions of 22.43 and 44.86 seconds on the backstretch as Kingsport trailed in fifth, some eight lengths off the lead. Jacks Escarpment sat a dream trip behind the leaders on the turn, where Kingsport began to mount an inside rally under Patrick Husbands.

Kingsport closed between the tiring front-runners in deep stretch to prevail by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:15.61. Jacks Escarpment beat out 1-20 favorite Pink Lloyd by a head for second, while Boreal Spirit faded to fourth.

Kingsport ($39) was supplemented to the race by trainer Sid Attard after a third-level optional claimer on turf failed to fill this week.

“We had no choice, and here we are,” said Attard. “He can do whatever you want. It just depends on how the races goes. When I saw him so far back, I wasn’t nervous. I knew he was going to come [with a run]. I didn’t know if he was going to get there like he did, but Patrick really gave him a good ride. We’ve had a lot of good luck. He’s won a lot of big races for us.”

After the horse ran a stinker in his last race going long in the Steady Growth Stakes, Husbands said Attard decided to cut Kingsport back in distance.

“My game plan was that there was going to be speed up front, and give him one run,” Husbands said. “He gave me 110 [percent] today.”

Eurico Da Silva, who was aboard for 10 of Pink Lloyd’s 11 victories during his remarkable run, was gracious in defeat.

“The horse has won a lot of races for me,” Da Silva said. “I'm not going to be upset because we lost today. Bad luck that my horse broke too sharp, and when I tried to take him back, he was fighting me, and I let him run. I made that decision that I had to live with.”

A 6-year-old by Milwaukee Brew, Kingsport earned $60,000 for Goldmart Farm and Royal Laser Racing Inc.