Pink Lloyd returns in tough spot

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Two-time Canadian champion sprinter Pink Lloyd makes his season debut Saturday at Woodbine in the $125,000 Jacques Cartier Stakes.

Pink Lloyd lowered Woodbine’s six-furlong synthetic track record when he captured last year’s Jacques Cartier in 1:08.05, with a career-high 106 Beyer Speed Figure. It was a remarkable feat considering that he had undergone minor knee surgery the previous December.

Pink Lloyd went on to win four other stakes in 2018. He tailed off in the fall, however, and bled when fourth in the Oct. 27 Overskate Stakes.

“He had a great winter,” trainer Robert Tiller said. “As everybody knows, he had a little issue at the end of last year. We’ve been very proactive with him. We’re hoping that things healed up nicely. He’s been training very well. This is a tough spot to make your first start in. Hopefully, he’ll run well and come back good. We’ll go from there.”

The Grade 3 Jacques Cartier drew an excellent field of 12, and will go as the eighth on a 10-race card.

KEY CONTENDERS

Pink Lloyd, by Old Forester
Last 3 Beyers: 87-87-99

◗ The popular 7-year-old gelding was Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2017, when he won all eight of his starts, all stakes, including the Jacques Cartier. He was voted the Sovereign Award winner for champion male sprinter in each of the past two years.

Yorkton, by Speightstown
Last 3 Beyers: 93-97-103

◗ The versatile front-runner won the Grade 3 Bold Venture on the Tapeta in September before enduring a heartbreaking loss in the Grade 2 Nearctic on turf.

◗ He got the winter off, and worked at Palm Meadows and Keeneland before coming here to breeze five-eighths in a bullet 59.20 seconds on the main track April 26.

“He’s come along nicely,” trainer Stu Simon said. “He’s doing fantastic, and he’s ready to go for the Jacques Cartier.”

Circle of Friends, by Midnight Lute
Last 3 Beyers: 94-82-82

◗ Tiller’s other entrant, he ended a slump when taking his seasonal bow in a second-level optional claimer April 20.

“He had a foot issue that bothered him all of last year,” Tiller said. “We stopped on him at the end of October. He’s doing well.”

Extravagant Kid, by Kiss the Kid
Last 3 Beyers: 93-97-94

◗ The shipper won his last outing in a restricted stakes on the dirt at Tampa. He got a 104 Beyer when second in last year’s Jacques Cartier, which was easily the best of his two synthetic track races.

Ikerrin Road, by Iffraaj
Last 3 Beyers: 98-90-89

◗ He has worked bullets in preparation for his first race since a victory in the Grade 2 Kennedy Road on Nov. 24.

◗ David Moran replaces the injured Ademar Santos on the durable Irish-bred.