Tiller pointing Pink Lloyd, Reconfigure to Kennedy Road Stakes

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Bob Tiller is pointing Canadian Horse of the Year candidate Pink Lloyd and Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes runner-up Reconfigure to the Grade 2, $175,000 Kennedy Road Stakes on Nov. 23.

Pink Lloyd hasn’t raced since being declared a non-starter after his gate opened early in the Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes on Sept. 14. Even though his gate opened early, Pink Lloyd was off a step slow in that event, before eventually crossing the line fourth. Gate issues have popped up in Pink Lloyd’s career before, and Tiller said correcting those issues has been a point of emphasis in his training.

“He’s got these antics over there. He’s done it before,” Tiller said. “He was so sharp. He touched the gate and as he broke them, he backed up. We thought we had it straightened out this year. We’re trying to train him in a different fashion to try to get him to control himself. It’s a game of details, and we’re doing everything we can to get him over there in good order.”

Pink Lloyd was nominated to the Overskate Stakes on Oct. 26, but Tiller said the connections made a decision several weeks ago to skip that event to focus on the six-furlong Kennedy Road. Pink Lloyd ran in last year’s Overskate Stakes and missed the rest of the season after finishing fourth.

“Last year, we blew up in the race,” Tiller said. “He had a bleeding incident. We want a fresh horse. If he wins the Kennedy Road, I believe he has a very good chance to be the Horse of the Year. He’s 7 now and he’ll be 8 next year and we want him to have one more shot at being Horse of the Year. Hopefully, he’ll behave. We’re just trying to do it right here. We just don’t want a repeat of what happened last year. We’re giving him all the time in the world.”

With Pink Lloyd being declared a non-starter in the Bold Venture, his record for the season still stands at five wins from five starts, including a pair of Grade 3 victories in the Grade 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes and the Grade 3 Vigil Stakes.

Reconfigure has been a productive claim for Tiller. Tiller claimed the 7-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid for $25,000 from Mark Casse in July. Since the claim, Reconfigure has hit the board in all five of his starts, which includes a win in the Turf Sprint Series in August. He’s run second in his last three starts, including the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes in his most recent start on Oct. 12.

“He ran a great race and he just missed,” Tiller said. “He’s had a bunch of seconds in a row. He’s been a wonderful claim. I can’t complain. We were able to get him for $25,000, and he’s earned $130,000. Obviously, we’re thrilled with him. He’s just a class old horse. He’s always had a lot of ability. He’s high maintenance but he’s a great horse. We love him at the barn. He’s a very kind horse.”

Tiller said he had his eye on Reconfigure for a while. Reconfigure had last raced in 2016 before returning to the races at Woodbine earlier this year for Casse.

“I just decided that I was going to spend my own money and take him,” Tiller said. “Obviously, when you have a horse that has run as few times as he has and has run as well as he had but was laid up, there’s something that was going on. We’ve got that under control now. He’s doing good.”