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Souper Stonehenge Wins Jacques Cartier Over Pink Lloyd

Mark Casse trainee handily wins grade 3 over four-time race winner Pink Lloyd.

Souper Stonehenge wins the Jacques Cartier Stakes at Woodbine

Souper Stonehenge wins the Jacques Cartier Stakes at Woodbine

Michael Burns

Souper Stonehenge put an end to Pink Lloyd's Jacques Cartier Stakes (G3) reign as he took off down the stretch to claim the six-furlong event for sprinters 4 years old and up June 20 at Woodbine

Jockey Patrick Husbands teamed up with the Mark Casse trainee, who was the slight 3-2 second choice in the six-horse field.   

After pressing the pace early on, Souper Stonehenge took command near the quarter pole from front-runner Readyforprimetime with quarter-mile splits of :22.72 and :44.93. 

Four-time Jacques Cartier champ Pink Lloyd, who had Daisuke Fukumoto picking up the mount, raced between horses at the back of the tightly knit bunch and surged into third on the turn, but Souper Stonehenge handily won by four lengths. The final time on the fast-rated Tapeta track was 1:08.89. 

Pink Lloyd, who set the 1:08.05 track record in the 2018 edition of the Jacques Cartier, settled for second in his 9-year-old debut as the 6-5 favorite. Last year's Jacques Cartier runner-up, Malibu Secret, came through inside to finish third while Joker On Jack, Readyforprimetime, and Dixie's Gamble completed the order of finish. 

Souper Stonehenge returned $5 to win on a $2 wager. There was no show wagering.

The winning 5-year-old Speightstown  gelding, who finished third in the Carter Handicap (G1) April 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack, earned his first win of the year from five starts.

"Going into this race, I breezed this horse about four times, and I think he's a world beater at Woodbine," said Husbands. "This horse is the real deal right now. 

"I rode him as the best horse in the race. I respect 'The Boss.' Any time you can beat Pink Lloyd at Woodbine Racetrack, especially sprinting; he's the world beater, he's the champion here. So I knew it would take a real Pink Lloyd to beat this horse today." 

Souper Stonehenge, who finished second in last year's Kennedy Road Stakes (G2) at Woodbine ahead of Pink Lloyd, now touts a career record of 4-4-1 from 15 starts. The lion's share of the CA$156,300 (US$125,343) purse boosted his bankroll to $271,587 for owner/breeder Live Oak Plantation.

Souper Stonehenge was bred in Florida and is out of the multiple stakes-winning Medaglia d'Oro  mare Onepointhreekarats. From three foals of racing age, two have started and both are stakes winners, including grade 1-placed Tap It to Win (by Tapit ). A 2-year-old Tapit colt, Tapthespeedofsound, has yet to start.

Husbands, who won 70 races, including 10 stakes during last year's shortened season, was pleased to land the connections a stakes victory after the pandemic delayed the start of the meet. 

"It's amazing to be back at Woodbine—it's a beautiful place, a good environment," said Husbands. "It's amazing how much stress the owners went through during the pandemic. They waited so long, putting all this money into these horses, and they didn't know when the races were going to start. You've got to tip your hat off to the owners." 

Video: Jacques Cartier S. (G3)