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Hernandez Heaps Praise On ‘Unbelievable’ Pink Lloyd Ahead Of Ontario Jockey Club

Multiple stakes winner and Canadian champion Pink Lloyd takes on five rivals in Sunday's $100,000 Ontario Jockey Club Stakes at Woodbine.

Bred in Ontario by John Carey and owned by Entourage Stable, the chestnut gelding, a 27-time winner, 24 of them stakes, arrives at the six-furlong Tapeta event for Ontario-sired three-year olds and up off his second straight Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes score.

Trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Robert Tiller, the nine-year-old son of Old Forester will once again have Rafael Hernandez in the irons.

“This horse, he's really strong and he can do anything you want from him,” said Hernandez. “He can get you in a good spot, but if you get into a tough spot, he can always find a way out. Last time, in the Bold Venture, there didn't appear to be much speed in the race. Was someone going to come and try to go with him fast early and then I wouldn't have anything left in the end, or were they thinking that he's a veteran horse and we'll let him go? Another horse tried to go for the lead, but he couldn't get to him. So, we had the lead and we went from there.”

A seven-time Sovereign Award recipient, including 2017 Horse of the Year honours, Pink Lloyd continues to be a fan favourite at the Toronto oval and beyond.

Hernandez, a lifetime winner of nearly 2,800 races, is one of Pink Lloyd's proudest supporters.

“He has so many stakes and he's a favourite horse of everybody, not just for me, not just for Bob Tiller, not just for his owner, but for the racetrack. I know people come to Woodbine just to see him.”

Being the pilot of Pink Lloyd is the ultimate adrenaline rush, said Hernandez.

“When you ride him, you don't feel yourself going fast because he spends so much time in the air. He has a big, big stride. He's unbelievable… he's push button. When you're in a race car and you push the nose and say, 'Bye-bye,' that's him. When you turn for home and push the button, it's, 'Bye-bye, come and get me.'”

Pink Lloyd's Sovereign bounty includes four consecutive (2017-2020) champion male sprinter trophies in and a pair of champion older male titles in 2017 and 2019.

He's recorded four consecutive victories in the Vigil Stakes and Jacques Cartier Stakes, along with three triumphs in both the Shepperton and Kenora.

Hernandez, who has 118 career stakes victories, hopes Pink Lloyd can add his lofty list of successes this Sunday.

“I talk to him, even before the race starts. I tell him, 'You take me where you want to go and do your thing. I'm going to wait for you to switch your lead and let you go.' When we go in the gate, I tell him to relax. He wants to go, but I take a hold and say, 'Not yet. Just hold on.' After the wire, we both breathe and I tell him, 'We did it, buddy. Good job.' Right now, I'm thinking about riding him in the race and it makes me smile. Every time I talk about him in an interview after the race, I tell them I am just a passenger. You need the horse to win the race. You can't say that you won the race. You need a good driver. With this horse, I am happy to be the driver.”

First post for Sunday's 10-race card is 12:55 p.m. The Ontario Jockey Club goes as race three. Fans can watch and wager on all the action with HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$100,000 ONTARIO JOCKEY CLUB STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Told It All – Daisuke Fukumoto – Suzanne Drake

2 – Pink Lloyd – Rafael Hernandez – Robert Tiller

3 – Magical Man – Steven Bahen – Gail Hughes

4 – Souper Hot – Shaun Bridgmohan – Mike Mattine

5 – Dun Drum – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Ian Black

6 – Forester's Fortune – Patrick Husbands – Rodney Barrow

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9-Year-Old Canadian Champ Pink Lloyd Regains Winning Ways In Bold Venture

Sprint superstar Pink Lloyd recorded his second consecutive Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes victory, Saturday at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

After two tough Bold Venture experiences, the seven-time Sovereign Award winner made it back-to-back wins in the 6 ½-furlong Tapeta race for 3-year-olds and up.

Pink Lloyd finished fifth in the 2018 running and was declared a non-starter in the 2019 edition when he broke through the starting gate early. Last year, in his third Bold Venture attempt, the Robert Tiller trainee split rivals to earn his elusive first win in the race.

On Saturday at Woodbine, Canada's Horse of the Year in 2017 was once again at his very best in the $168,900 event.

With Rafael Hernandez aboard, Pink Lloyd was in unfamiliar territory early on, as the veteran campaigner was taken to the front in a compact field of five (Reconfigure was scratched) that was devoid of early speed.

Joined to the outside by Lucky Curlin, Pink Lloyd rattled off an opening quarter in :23.83, holding a half-length advantage of over the second choice on the board. It was status quo through a half timed in :46.68, as the cat-and-mouse game between the frontrunners began to heat up around the turn for home.

Pink Lloyd, to the inside, was engaged by Lucky Curlin as the pair straightened for home, but Pink Floyd dug in gamely to fend off the strong challenge enroute to a three-quarter length victory in a time of 1:15.13.

The son of Old Forester went off as the even-money choice and returned $4.10 to win. Lucky Curlin finished second and Lookin to Strike was third.

“I just monitored to see what happens,” said Hernandez, of the early strategy. “If somebody goes crazy, I'll just sit next to him, if they don't, I'm just going to let him do his thing.

“I know he [Lucky Curlin] was breathing next to me all the way, but I trust Pink Lloyd. I said, 'When you turn for home, you're going to stretch your legs and you're going to say bye-bye.'”
It was the fourth Bold Venture title for Tiller. The Hall of Famer won in 1977 with Pres de Tu and again in 2006 with Are You Serious.

Tiller, joined by his wife Gail in the winner's circle, was emotional in the post-race interview.

“I never trained a nine-year-old stakes winner,” offered the lifetime winner of over 2,050 races. “He's still out here beating the best sprinters. I'm just so very happy today because I thought he should have won his last race [Grade 3 Vigil, on August 1 at Woodbine]. This is not his best race on the lead, that's not what he wants. He likes to run at horses. He's a very competitive horse, but we had no choice today. Raffi just rode his race. As soon as the gates opened, I knew he was going to make the lead. We didn't want to get shuffled back because there really is no speed in the race.”

Bred in Ontario by John Carey and owned by the Entourage Stable, the chestnut gelding now has 27 career wins, 24 of them stakes.

“It's an amazing story,” said Tiller. “I don't think any horse is going to come along soon and do what he's done. He's running because he's so happy. He's sounder now than he's ever been. I thank the good Lord that my wife is here to see him. This one today is very special. We're blessed to have had this horse. He's an icon.”

In other Saturday stakes action, Miss Speedy took the $141,300 Duchess, for three-year-old fillies, besting nine rivals over seven furlongs on the main track.

It was Miss Speedy, with Rafael Hernandez aboard, who emerged with the lead in a tightly-bunched group, holding a one-length advantage after a quarter timed in :22.82. The duo was still running comfortably on the front end by 1 ½-lengths after a half-mile in :45.41, as Bellissime and Sweet Souper Sweet tracked the leader.

Hernandez called on Miss Speedy around the turn, and the pair started to separate themselves from any late challengers with relative ease, maintaining their two-length advantage at the stretch call for the victory. Aug Lutes was second and Salty as Can Be, also a Casse trainee, was third.

The final time was 1:21.10.

Although the plan wasn't to go to the lead, Hernandez was content to set the pace.

“I was thinking I was going to be second, maybe third, behind two horses that show early speed,” said the champion rider. “When the gates opened, my horse was in there, and I looked inside me and said, 'No one is going to go, okay I'll take it.' And then everything was on the horse.”

It was the third win from four starts for the Mark Casse-trained filly, who launched her career with a couple of strong performances this summer for owners Gary Barber, Ryan Shane Kerbel and Barry Kerbel.

Miss Speedy arrived at the Duchess off a fourth-place finish in the Bison City Stakes, in what was her first added-money test.

The daughter of Souper Speedy paid $6.60 to win as the slight choice.

Miss Speedy was bred in Ontario by Linda Mason.

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Ontario Sire Heritage Series Kicks Off Saturday At Woodbine

A pair of turf stakes, the Georgian Bay, and Lake Huron, will share the spotlight on Saturday's 11-race card at Woodbine in Toronto, Ontario.

The five-furlong inner turf events are part of the Ontario Sire Heritage Series, a new eight-leg stakes series open to Ontario Sired 3-year-olds, to be contested at Woodbine and Fort Erie racetracks.

Ontario Racing and its Thoroughbred Improvement Program (TIP) Committee unveiled the series in March. With a total purse structure of $750,000, the Heritage Series will feature a total of four races – three opening legs and one final – for both 3-year-old colts and 3-year-old fillies that are sustained to the Ontario Sires Stakes program.

First out of the gate on Saturday is the $80,000 Georgian Bay, which has attracted six fillies. Carded as race three, the wide-open affair includes Benny's Button.

Trainer Beverley Chubb, who co-owns the filly with breeder Shamrock Stable, had the bay well prepared for her career bow on July 3 at Woodbine.

Sent off at 19-1 in the five-furlong Tapeta race, Benny's Button grabbed the lead early and turned a 1 ½-length advantage at the stretch call into a 3 ¼-length victory in a time of :57.54.

Now, the daughter of top Canadian sire Old Forester, will step up to the stakes ranks and onto a new surface.

“I was trying to run in a non-winners of two, Ontario sired,” noted Chubb. “But the race didn't go and it got so close to that race, I figured we would give it a try. She did it with ease, I thought. We'll see what she does against tougher horses, but I don't think she's a stretch in there. She ran a very determined race. She's a serious filly – she doesn't clown around. I know she just broke her maiden, but I think she deserves a shot.”

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A multiple stakes winning conditioner, Chubb is looking for a duplicate of that curtain-raising effort from a month ago.

She likes what she's seeing from her young pupil.

“She's been training well,” said Chubb, who won the 1998 running of the George C. Hendrie, and 1999 edition of the La Voyageuse with Irish Cherry. “She broke her maiden convincingly, so I'm hoping for some good luck.”

While Chubb has come to know what to expect from her young charge on the racetrack, it's quite the opposite in the barn.

“Off the track, at home, she's a gem. Here, she can be a little bit difficult, as can all Old Forester fillies. She has the Old Forester filly streak… 'Maybe today I'm going to stand here and rear, and maybe I'm going to train.' You're just never sure. She has that typical moody streak where you never know what's going to happen.”

The Lake Huron, slated as the ninth race, has drawn six hopefuls, including Dragon's Brew, a son of Milwaukee Brew.

Trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Robert Tiller, the gelding is 3-0-1 from seven lifetime starts, with a 1-0-1 mark from three turf engagements.

The grass win came in his most recent start, a six-furlong trek over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course on July 17.

Sent on his way at 15-1 Dragon's Brew, under Kazushi Kimura, found daylight in the stretch and went on to a two-length score in a time of 1:09.81 over good going.

“Did I see it coming? Yes. The way he was acting and the way he was training, I thought he'd have a good race,” said Tiller. “His first race of the year [June 27, at Woodbine], you had to throw out because there was a spill in that race. He was kind of involved and was cut up. I knew that wasn't a real race.”

Cutting back a furlong and switching from the E.P. Taylor Turf to the inner turf will present a few challenges for Dragon's Brew, noted Tiller.

That said, the decorated conditioner knows one thing he can expect from the bay, bred and owned by Goldmart Farms.

“He's always had a little trouble fighting the turn and he has to run on the Inner over five-eighths. He's in good order and we'll give it our best shot. I wish it was further and it was on the E.P. Taylor, and it's only one turn. He did have trouble making that sharp turn last fall [third on the Inner in the Bull Page Stakes]. There are some factors we're concerned about, but he'll be running on end. He'll come running. He's a good finisher, and he's a nice, little horse.”

First post time is 1:10 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com.

FIELD FOR THE $80,00 GEORGIAN BAY

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER
1 – Meet the Soprano – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse
2 – Artful Ballerina – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Darwin Banach
3 – Benny's Button – Juan Crawford – Beverley Chubb
4 – Nero Davola (S) – Sahin Civaci – Martin Drexler
5 – Sunsprite – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard
6 – Humble Beginnings (S) – Kazushi Kimura – Krista Cole-Simpson

FIELD FOR THE $80,000 LAKE HURON

POST – HORSE – JOCKEY – TRAINER
1 – Red Maple – Shaun Bridgmohan – Michelle Love
2 – Forest Survivor – Kazushi Kimura – Norm McKnight
3 – Jocularity – Justin Stein – Ashlee Brnjas
4 – Galvaston – David Moran – Michael Doyle
5 – All Canadian – Gary Boulanger – Gail Cox
6 – Dragon's Brew – Patrick Husbands – Robert Tiller

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Seven-Time Sovereign Award Winner Pink Lloyd Kicks Off 2021 Campaign Sunday At Woodbine

Multiple stakes champion and fan favourite Pink Lloyd goes after his fifth straight Grade 3 Jacques Cartier Stakes crown, Sunday at Woodbine, part of a 12-race card that also features the $125,000 Woodstock Stakes.

A seven-time Sovereign award winner, including Horse of the Year honours in 2017 and four straight (2017-2020) Male Sprinter titles, Pink Lloyd, owned by Entourage Stable and trained by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Robert Tiller, will launch his 9-year-old campaign in a race he has dominated since 2017.

With regular rider Rafael Hernandez on the sidelines after an injury suffered in an opening day spill on June 12, Daisuke Fukumoto will take the reins of the speedy son of Old Forester in the $150,000 Jacques Cartier.

Tiller, who has campaigned the ultra consistent chestnut since his first start in 2016, will take a race-to-race approach with Pink Lloyd this season.

“You're dealing with a 9-year-old,” said Tiller, who won the first race of the 2021 Woodbine Thoroughbred meet with Five Days in May. “This horse, his career will be over this year at some time. He will be retired this year. He's been a wonderful animal, he's earned over $2 million, and he loves racing. He's happy and he's sound right now – that's why he's running. We're going to take it one start at a time and make a decision after each start.”

Bred by John Carey, Pink Lloyd launched his career five years ago, winning his first three races, including a victory in his debut on August 28, 2016, a 1 ½-length score over six furlongs on the Woodbine main track.

The veteran campaigner hasn't missed a beat since then, racking up a slew of stakes triumphs while filling his connections' trophy cases with hard-earned hardware.

“We have a lot of challenges for this race,” noted Tiller. “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.”

When Pink Lloyd is retired, he'll be sent to LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society to enjoy his post-racing life.

As Tiller noted last year, “He'll be a movie star there after being a rock star on the racetrack.”

Other contenders include Wesley Ward trainee Joker On Jack, 2020 Jacques Cartier runner-up Malibu Secret, Zilli Racing Stables' 5-year-old Readyforprimetime, Live Oak Plantation homebred Souper Stonehenge, and stakes winner Dixie's Gamble.

Listed at 25-1 in the Queen's Plate Winterbook, Derzkii, a 3-year-old son of Frac Daddy, will make his 2021 debut in the Woodstock Stakes, traditionally a key prep on the road to Canada's most famous horse race.

Owned by Fieldstone Farms Inc., and trained by Carlos Grant, the two-time winner from six starts closed out his 2-year-old campaign with back-to-back scores, on October 18 and November 12.

Grant saw potential in Derzkii early on, but waited until after the dark bay's first race to see if his confidence was warranted.

“Some of them will fool you, so you just have to wait until they start racing. When he was a yearling, he'd be running around the paddock like a madman. There would be ice and everything in the paddock, and he'd be going like a madman. I always told my wife and my brother-in-law, 'He's a freak.' Nothing will faze him. That's what you want in a horse.

“He just can't stand it when you leave him in his stall. I have to train him first in the morning and when he comes off the track, he's still full of energy. He's got no shortage of energy. He's a beautiful horse to be around.”

After a third, fourth, fifth and second to begin his career, Derzkii, bred by Megan Allan and Lesley Kraus, hit his best stride in his past two performances.

Grant was thoroughly pleased with his rookie campaign.

“He had a beautiful year. He came out of all the races very happy and he showed us all what he could do out there. I usually give my horses three days off, depending on how they come out of the race, but he was ready and raring to go again the day after his races. During his training, I realized he wanted to go further. After every work, I would say, 'This guy wants to go long.' In his third start, I noticed him looking around, so we put the blinkers on. We made that adjustment and that was all he needed.”

This will be the second stakes appearance for Derzkii, who finished fourth in the 2020 Simcoe Stakes.

His connections are hoping it's the start of even bigger things to come.

“I dream about it [Queen's Plate] every day, every single minute,” said Grant. “Racing in the Plate would be a dream come true. We have to keep our fingers crossed.”

The field showcases stakes winners Chasing Artie, Jaxon Traveler, Master Spy, and Outadore, along with multiple stakes placed Sky's Not Falling, and Saturday George, who broke his maiden with an impressive turf triumph last September at Woodbine.

FIELD FOR THE JACQUES CARTIER

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Joker On Jack – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Wesley Ward

2 – Pink Lloyd – Daisuke Fukumoto – Robert Tiller

3 – Malibu Secret – Kazushi Kimura – Martin Drexler

4 – Readyforprimetime – Justin Stein – Michael De Paulo

5 – Souper Stonehenge – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

6 – Dixie's Gamble – Luis Contreras – Josie Carroll

FIELD FOR THE WOODSTOCK

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Chasing Artie – Kazushi Kimura – Wesley Ward

2 – Outadore – Justin Stein – Wesley Ward

3 – Saturday George – David Moran – Michael De Paulo

4 – Jaxon Traveler – Luis Contreras – Steve Asmussen

5 – Sky's Not Falling – Gary Boulanger – Michael Trombetta

6 – Derzkii – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Carlos Grant

7 – Master Spy – Patrick Husbands – Mark Casse

The Jacques Cartier is scheduled as race seven. The Woodstock goes as race 10. First post is 1:20 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIBet.com.

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