Colonel Liam set for long-awaited return in Fort Lauderdale

Multiple graded-stakes winning millionaire Colonel Liam, unraced since the spring, will be in familiar surroundings when he makes his long-awaited return as a prelude to the Pegasus World Cup in Saturday’s $200,000 Fort Lauderdale (G2) at Gulfstream Park.

The Fort Lauderdale for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on Gulfstream’s new turf course is the richest of six stakes, five graded, worth $850,000 in purses on an 11-race New Year’s Eve program and serves as a local prep for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) Jan. 28.

First race post time is 12:10 p.m.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Colonial Liam is the two-time defending champion in the Pegasus Turf having beaten one of his stablemates each time, Largent in 2021 and Never Surprised in 2022. His presence did not scare off the competition in the Fort Lauderdale, which attracted an overflow field of 13 including fellow graded-stakes winners City Man, Decorated Invader, King Cause and Pao Alto.

“It’s an exciting time, obviously,” said Jacob West, racing manager for owners Robert and Lawana Low. “He has incredibly patient owners who are willing to do this. They are sportsmen and they love to watch their horses run and they’re excited to get him back and see how he does.”

Colonel Liam has raced five times at Gulfstream with four wins and a third, his other victories coming in his April 2020 career debut as well as the December 2020 Tropical Park Derby as his Pegasus prep. He followed up his 2021 Pegasus win with triumphs in the Muniz Memorial (G2) and Turf Classic (G1).