Colonel Liam Stakes

Purse $175.000 – For Three Year Olds

One Mile – InTurf

Gulfstream Park – February 28, 2026

In his first race against winners, In The Drink forges clear in the stretch to win the Colonel Liam Stakes. This three-year-old California Bred now increases his earnings to $147.000 in just three starts. Pan Farms and jockey Frankie Dettori also secured their first win in this race. Bad weather turned the turf course soft, introducing a variable that only three horses in the field had experienced before. It made no difference to In The Drink, who delivered a career-best performance!

Winner: In The Drink – (Pan Farms, L. Dettori) The soft ground was obviously not a problem for this colt by Cherokee Thriller. ​​It was really a perfect setup for In The Drink, sitting right off the speed and pouncing at the perfect time. When the gates opened Dettori put his horse immediately on the rail, saving all the ground. Down the backside he started to put more pressure on the pace setter and when the field entered the stretch, In The Drink kicked away impressively. Well done!

Second Place: No Prince – (Mb Stables, J R. Velazquez) The even-money favorite sat by himself in the third flight of horses until the ¼ pole. That’s when jockey John Velazquez decided to make his move, entering the stretch three wide. No Prince made up about 3-4 lengths down the lane but ultimately wasn’t able to catch the winner. This was his 7th career start, and he has still not finished worse than fourth. He’s a horse to keep an eye on down the road.

Third Place: Smokin Future – (Red Fox Farms, P. Lopez) Red Fox Farms opted for the same game plan for Smokin Future as in his prior race: get to the lead. Due to his bad post, it took Paco Lopez until the ⅝ pole to secure the solo lead. He went the half mile in 48.01 and three-quarters in 1:12.84. Smokin Future lost the lead at the top of the stretch and barely held on for third. If this colt had been drawn more toward the inside, he maybe could have held on to second.

Fourth Place: Final Sunset – (Riggins Racing, J. NavMarin) After an eye-catching two length allowance win, Final Sunset put together a decent fourth-place effort. When the gates opened, he took his spot in the back of the pack hoping for a fast pace up front to close into. At the ¼ pole, Jose NavMarin made his move, shifting four wide into the stretch. He made up a decent amount of ground in the final furlong but was just too far back in the early stages of the race. More ground will be needed for him in the future.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded