Colonel Liam

A late bloomer, Colonel Liam didn’t debut until Apr. 11 of his 3-year-old season, in a maiden race on the grass at Gulfstream Park. He crossed the wire second, but was put up to first place via a disqualification.

For his third career start, at Saratoga on Jul. 22, he tried the grass for the first time. It proved a successful effort, as he won a 1 1/16 mile allowance race by 2 ¾ lengths. In his next race, he finished a close fourth in the Saratoga Derby on Aug.. 15, earning a lifetime top Equibase Speed figure of 106. He concluded his 3-year-old season with a win in the Tropical Park Derby on Dec. 26 at Gulfstream.

Colonel Liam opened his 4-year-old campaign with a strong win in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream. He won by a head, while covering the final quarter in an impressive 22.19 seconds. He followed up that victory with a win in the Grade 2 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds on Mar. 20, where he once again came from off the pace.

In the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on May 1, Colonel Liam finished in a dead-heat with Domestic Spending. He stalked the pace and moved to the lead in the stretch, but Domestic Spending lunged at him in the stretch, and the two hit the wire at the same time.

After an eighth-place finish in the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park on June 6, Colonel Liam went to the sidelines for the rest of 2021. He returned on Jan. 29, 2022, as he sought back-to-back wins in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes Presented by Baccarat. He chased down pace-setting stablemate Never Surprised and drew off to victory. 

Colonel Liam has a pedigree made for grass. His granddam (mother of mother) Wonder Again was a multiple grade 1 winner on the grass. Her most notable win came in the grade 1 Diana Handicap at Saratoga in 2004.