Pletcher sending Colonel Liam to Muniz Memorial

When soon-to-be Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher won his first and only Muniz Memorial Stakes, the year was 2010 and the race was called the Mervin Muniz Handicap. The winner was Blues Street, who had hit the hottest streak of his career, which in the end stamped him more as a solid listed-stakes or Grade 3-type middle-distance turf horse.

Pletcher will try to win his second Muniz on March 20, and this time he is bringing more powerful ammunition. Colonel Liam, who won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf in his most recent start and is emerging as a leading older middle-distance turf horse in North America, will be shipped from the Palm Beach Downs training center in South Florida to start in the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial over 1 1/8 miles. Irad Ortiz Jr., who rode Colonel Liam to victory in the Tropical Park Derby before putting a nifty ride on the 4-year-old to land the Pegasus, has the mount, Pletcher said in a Thursday phone interview.

“There’s not a lot of great options for him right now,” Pletcher said. “He had two races fairly close together, so this gives us a bit of space to his next main goal, the race on Derby Day.”

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That race is the Grade 1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, meaning this sequence of races follows the same path traveled in 2019 by Bricks And Mortar, who capped an undefeated season with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Turf that led to Horse of the Year honors. Now, Colonel Liam has a long, long way to go to approach that level of performance or accomplishment, but, like Bricks and Mortar two years ago, he brings strong momentum into the heart of his 4-year-old campaign while appearing to hit a sweet spot in races between nine and 10 furlongs.

“He’s filled out even a little more since his last start and we’re really happy with the progress he’s made,” said Pletcher. In his most recent timed workout, on Feb. 27, Colonel Liam went in company on the Palm Beach dirt training track with Social Paranoia, who was to race Saturday in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile, leaving no doubt who was the boss in that drill.

Pletcher said he’s considering sending one other horse for the March 20 Louisiana Derby card, the 3-year-old filly Zaajel, who could run in the Fair Grounds Oaks.