Colonel Liam ($215.000 Purse)
GP- For Three Year Olds
One Mile on the Inner Turf
March 1, 2025

Eight horses have made the trip to GP for the 22nd running of the Colonel Liam and will enjoy the opportunity to cash in on the largest purse that has been offered by the race. The $215.000 exceeds the amount that was available even when the race was graded from inception through 2020. It’s not a race that you would expect a KYD horse to come out of, but that was the case with last year’s winner, Crickets, for Martyparty. After the win, he ran second in the BG Stakes, sending him to CD for the big race. He returned to the grass afterwards and went on to run in the BC Mile. Not a bad act to follow, and here’s the group of horses that hope to do so:

1- Hail Justice (Team 7 Illusions, ridden by E J Zayas)- After coming close a couple times, Hail Justice broke through last month and broke his maiden at SA with an impressive three length victory. Works very well, so I can certainly understand no messing around with allowances off of that and placing him here. Might need a race at this level first before we see his true potential, however.

2- Smokin Access (Red Fox Farms, ridden by Hector Barrios)- While Team 7 Illusions let Hail Justice break his maiden conventionally, Red Fox Farms was not waiting around. He ran second at BTP, and things clearly improved after that as the newfound gelding was entered directly into the $150.000 Kittens Joy. Need a race first? Not Smokin Access, who went on to get the win. He’s another one putting in some great works.

3- Read Neck (Wood Duck Stables, ridden by A R Rodriguez)- Makes his stake debut after getting a couple of chances in optional claimers. He won both of them, which immediately followed his maiden score, and that puts him on a three-race winning streak. This is a great rest for him, because the field is mostly horses just like him: up and comers with a lot of potential. Worst Case Scenario foals that run well always get my attention, too.

4- Last King (Riggins Racing, ridden by F Geroux)- Has more stake experience than the three starting to his inside, but that does not necessarily mean he’s better than them. His strong two-year-old season saw two wins over seven starts, with one of those wins in the $150.000 Awad. He would not cash a check in his prior two and was sixth to Smokin Access in the Kittens Joy here last month.

5- Cross Traffic (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by B Curtis)- He’s been getting his chances in stakes, all of the ungraded variety, but he has not been getting it done. Several of those were before he broke his maiden, though he would be unable to do what Smokin Access did and had to break his maiden normally. Afterwards, there has been two duds, with a concerning result in the Kittens Joy. I have to see that he can be better in this before considering him in the future.

6- Alpine Rescue (Nakamura Stables, ridden by A A Gallardo)- Prior to being gelded, Alpine Rescue was given several chances to run for high purses and simply did not get the job done. The geld would happen in December, and two starts later, he would return to the winner’s circle. It was at TAM, in an N1X allowance in a strong performance but not one that will intimidate his rivals. However, this is a field of up and comers and he can still be considered.

7- Bear Head (Martyparty, ridden by P Lopez)- Last year Martyparty brought Crickets here and won, and this year he brings a Bear. This gelding is the highest earner in the field to this point, with $244.000 in career earnings, thanks in large part to a pair of ungraded stake wins. Last time out, he made his turf debut in the Texas Turf Mile and got the victory with an impressive come from behind effort. Figures to get at least some portion of this purse.

8- Spin Zone (Mb Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- This is the fourth horse in the field to come out of the Kittens Joy, and for Spin Zone, a late run would get him a second-place result. The only one he did not catch was Smokin Access, and he is set to get some revenge here. In his prior race, he won the $150.000 Dania Beach right here on New Years Day. I think we can still call him an up and comer, to an extent, even though he has that win on his resume.

Prediction: 8-7-3-2

— NS

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded