Pink Lloyd seeks four-peat in Vigil Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The unstoppable Pink Lloyd will try to win the $125,000 Vigil Stakes for the fourth year in a row Saturday at Woodbine.

Pink Lloyd’s three victories in the Grade 3 Vigil all came under Eurico Da Silva, who retired last year. Rafael Hernandez teamed up with the three-time Canadian champion sprinter for three stakes scores in as many starts this year, culminating in the Grade 3 Bold Venture three weeks ago, when they split horses in midstretch en route to a dramatic victory over a charging Olympic Runner.

“He’s just a push-button horse,” Hernandez said. “He does anything you want him to. He relaxes good. When you settle him down, he’s just a baby. When you put him in the clear, he goes through.”

Trainer Robert Tiller was ecstatic with the effort put forth by the 8-year-old Pink Lloyd, who toted high weight of 128 pounds in the 6 1/2-furlong Bold Venture.

“I really wanted to see him win it,” Tiller said. “He overcame a bad trip, for him. He loves to run at horses, not be squeezed in between horses. I think he thought it was over, but then [Olympic Runner] came running and ran a big race.”

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Pink Lloyd hasn’t lost since October 2018, a nine-race win streak. He was declared a non-starter in last year’s Bold Venture after popping the gate early.

Pink Lloyd will vault over the $2 million mark in Canadian career earnings with a first- or second-place finish Saturday.

“I try not to think about things like that,” Tiller said. “I’ve reached the point where if I start thinking about winning another race with him, or any other accomplishment . . . we just try to keep carrying on and what will be will be. Thank God I have enough horses in the barn to keep my mind occupied.”

Olympic Runner could be the main threat again. Trained by Mark Casse, the 4-year-old ran second to the good Silent Poet in an allowance on the inner turf in his June 11 season opener, after which he finished a flat fourth in the Grade 2 Connaught Cup on the main turf. He got a career-high 93 Beyer Speed Figure in his neck loss in the Bold Venture.

Among the others entered in the six-furlong event are the razor-sharp Silent Jimmie, last year’s Grade 2 Nearctic winner City Boy, and the useful grasser runner Blind Ambition.

Silent Jimmie has never been better than this year at age 6. Two starts ago, he was along for second behind Pink Lloyd in the restricted Shepperton Stakes, earning a career-best 93 Beyer. He’s coming off a win in a fast-paced optional claimer that set up perfectly for his closing style.