Colonel Liam surges in Muniz Memorial

Colonel Liam pulled rank Saturday in New Orleans, winning the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds as the overwhelming favorite.

The Muniz was a steppingstone race between Grade 1 objectives for Colonel Liam, who won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf in his most recent start and has the Grade 1 Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard as his next major goal.

These in-between races can turn trickier than expected. It was just two years ago that odds-on Bricks and Mortar, who would be named Horse of the Year, eked out a narrow Muniz victory between Grade 1 starts. Colonel Liam, a hardy 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher for Robert and Lawana Low, turned in a more definitive score, albeit with a perfect trip under Irad Ortiz Jr., who won his third race on the card.

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Ortiz planted Colonel Liam on the fence as James Graham took Two Emmys outside Peace Achieved to lead into the first turn and down the backstretch, clicking off a quick opening quarter-mile in 23.79 before slowing to a 49.08 half. Two Emmys went along nicely, maintaining his lead without having to work too hard, but Ortiz tipped Colonel Liam off the fence at the five-sixteenths pole, his horse loaded for the homestretch.

Two Emmys loves the Fair Grounds grass course and came into this race in great form for trainer and part-owner Hugh Robertson, and it took Ortiz five cracks of the crop to get Colonel Liam home, but the favorite bore down purposefully from the furlong grounds to the sixteenth pole and won going away, home by about 1 3/4 lengths.

“He’s a really, really nice horse. He makes it looks easy,” Ortiz said. “You can see he’s so smart, got a lot of class, is so kind. You don’t see too many like that.”

Colonel Liam was timed in 1:48.33 for 1 1/8 miles on grass and paid $3.40. He earned a 99 Beyer Speed Figure, equaling his number winning the Pegasus World Cup Turf. Two Emmys separated himself from the rest of the field, easily second-best as Logical Myth edged Pixelate for fourth. Logical Myth had a wonderful Fair Grounds meet, the former claimer winning two stakes and finishing second in the Fair Grounds Stakes before his third on Saturday.

Factor This, who would’ve been second choice, was scratched because of a foot bruise. Cross Border also was withdrawn.

Todd Pletcher trains Colonel Liam – a son of Liam’s Map and the Bernardini mare Amazement - for Robert and Lawana Low. Mr. Low, in a post-race interview, said Colonel Liam “is arguably the best” horse he has owned during decades in the sport. Colonel Liam, a $1.2 million, 2-year-old in training purchase in April 2019, started his career with two decent dirt races but took a huge step forward when moved to turf last summer at Saratoga. Off between August and December, he won the Tropical Park Derby in his prep for the Pegasus Turf, and now he is likely on to the Turf Classic over 1 1/8 miles on the Kentucky Derby undercard.