Pink Lloyd begins 9-year-old campaign in race he owns, the Jacques Cartier

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Perennial Canadian champion sprinter Pink Lloyd will try to win the Grade 3, $150,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes for the fifth year in a row in his 9-year-old debut on Sunday at Woodbine.

Pink Lloyd set the six-furlong synthetic track record of 1:08.05 when he was a spry 6-year-old in the 2018 Jacques Cartier. He launched his 2020 campaign in the Cartier with a daylight score over three rivals and was awarded a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Pink Lloyd went on to win the restricted Shepperton Stakes in his second start off the bench in July, and then took the Grade 3 Bold Venture in August. He earned his third straight 97 Beyer while annexing his fifth straight Grade 3 Vigil.

Pink Lloyd had nowhere to run between the Sept. 5 Vigil and the Grade 2 Kennedy Road on Nov. 21, when he ran into a buzz saw from the Mark Casse barn, the upwardly mobile Ride a Comet. Pink Lloyd took the overland route, while Ride a Comet saved ground early and then outkicked him to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths over stablemate Souper Stonehenge. Pink Lloyd checked in third.

Trainer Robert Tiller said Pink Lloyd’s wide trip from post 7 and layoff heading into the Kennedy Road were two factors that led to his downfall.

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“He had a horrible trip,” Tiller recalled. “He was in the middle of the racetrack all the way around. The post put him out there. He just came up a little empty the last part. The winner is a very good horse.”

Daisuke Fukumoto picks up the mount on Pink Lloyd, who’s worked sporadically since late March in preparation for his return from a seven-month layoff.

“We have a lot of challenges for this race,” Tiller said. “He carries high weight again. If he runs a good race like he did in his last race of 2020, I’ll be happy and we’ll see how he comes out of it. The horse is doing well and he has every right to run in this race.”

Of Pink Lloyd’s five rivals, Souper Stonehenge should be the main threat.

Souper Stonehenge saved ground throughout in the Kennedy Road to finish two lengths clear of Pink Lloyd. He competed at four different tracks during the winter, the highlight of which was a narrow loss in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa.

Souper Stonehenge was a distant third two back in the Grade 1 Carter at Aqueduct. The handsome 5-year-old is coming off a flat fifth in another seven-furlong dirt sprint, a third-level allowance at Belmont Park.

◗ Sunday’s supporting feature is the $125,000 Woodstock Stakes, a six-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds that will be the synthetic debut for Belmont-based Jaxon Traveler.

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Jaxon Traveler was unbeaten in three 2-year-old outings before heading to Oaklawn for the winter, where he won the $200,000 Bachelor Stakes with a 94 Beyer after losing the Gazebo Stakes by a head. He rallied wide for second most recently in the Grade 3 Chick Lang at Pimlico.

The Wesley Ward-trained Chasing Artie ships in from Churchill after winning his last start in the April 2 Palisades Turf Sprint Stakes at Keeneland. In January on the Tapeta track at Turfway Park, he ran off up front and then blew a substantial lead when second against $15,000 maidens.

Ward also entered Outadore, a stakes winner on turf at 2 who’s coming off a front-running victory in the Animal Kingdom Stakes March 27 at Turfway.

The seven-horse field also includes last year’s Cup and Saucer Stakes winner Master Spy, a nominee to the Canadian Triple Crown.