Pink Lloyd, winner of an unprecedented 11 straight stakes races at Woodbine, will be looking to extend that streak here in the $100,000 Shepperton on July 8.
After beginning his current campaign with repeats in the Jacques Cartier, New Providence and Achievement, the six-year-old Pink Lloyd also will be looking to double up in the 6 1/2 furlong Shepperton, which followed the Vigil Stakes as his fourth win last season. This year’s $125,000 Vigil, a Grade 3 now at six furlongs, will be run July 29.
“He’s from another world, that’s what I think,” said Bob Tiller, who trains Pink Lloyd for the Entourage Stable of his longtime client Frank Di Giulio Jr. and friends Ed Longo, John Peri, John Lucato and Victor Mele. “He’s a wonderful animal.”
But while Pink Lloyd may make it look easy on the racetrack, Tiller stresses the fact that training the reigning Canadian Horse of the Year is a difficult task.
“He’s fine now, perfect,” said Tiller. “But, it’s a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day worry for me.
“His is the first stall I go into every day. I’m in his stall four or five times a day, checking his legs. We do all we can to protect him, but we can’t control fate.”