BY LAURIE ROSS
Breeders aiming to produce runners capable of succeeding on both turf and dirt will find an appealing option at Ocala Stud in Colonel Liam (Liam’s Map – Amazement, by Bernardini), a stallion whose pedigree and race record showcase speed, adaptability and top-level two-turn class across multiple surfaces.
AT THE RACES
Bred by Phillips Racing Partnership, Colonel Liam attracted $1.2 million as the session topper at the 2019 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale of 2-year-olds. Racing in the silks of Robert E. and Lawana Low and conditioned by Todd Pletcher, the large grey colt did not debut until his 3-year-old season.
Colonel Liam was fearless when he captured his debut maiden special weight on Gulfstream Park’s dirt course. He overcame traffic trouble after being bumped and checked, securing the victory. After placing third in a first condition, $25,000 optional claiming contest over the same course, he discovered his true niche as a two-turn turf performer, delivering a decisive two-and-three-quarters-length allowance victory at Saratoga.
Following a fourth-place finish in the tightly contested $500,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational, Colonel Liam launched a four-race winning streak, beginning with a three-and-a-quarter-length triumph in the Listed Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream and continuing there one month later with a breakthrough score in the 2021 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (Grade 1). Success at the highest level continued with victories in the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2) at Fair Grounds and in the Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic Stakes (G1) at Churchill Downs.
The following season, his one-length victory in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) made Colonel Liam the only back-to-back winner of the prestigious race. He retired with a record of seven wins and one third in twelve starts, totaling $1,812,565 in earnings.
PEDIGREE
From the first crop of Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song – Miss Macy Sue, by Trippi), Colonel Liam stands as his sire’s second-leading earner, underscoring the early impact of this young sire line. Liam’s Map runners have already proven effective across a wide range of distances and surfaces, winning from four-and-a-half furlongs to a mile-and-a-quarter on dirt and stretching to a mile-and-a-half on turf.
Colonel Liam reflects the genetic balance behind that success, blending the high-cruising speed of the Unbridled’s Song branch of the Fappiano line with the classic stamina foundation of the A.P. Indy/Seattle Slew dynasty through his dam.
The result is a pedigree that supports high-level performance from middle distances through classic turf routes, exactly the pattern he demonstrated with Grade 1 victories from a mile-and-a-sixteenth to nine furlongs.
Liam’s Map came within two races of a perfect eight-for-eight career, his only defeats a runner-up finish in his debut and a narrow neck loss to eventual 2015 Champion Older Horse Honor Code in the Whitney Stakes (G1).
He won the $100,000 Harlan’s Holiday in 2014, delivered a dominant four-and-three-quarters-lengths score in the 2015 Woodward (G1), and capped his career next out with a standout performance in the 2015 Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1). He retired with $1,358,940 in earnings.
The Liam’s Map — Bernardini cross produced 21 starters from 56 foals, 16 winners, and four stakes winners, Grade 1 heroine Wicked Whisper from Liam’s Map’s first crop, and multiple graded winner, Roses for Debra, who earned $821,618 in 16 starts.
Colonel Liam’s dam, the unraced Amazement (Bernardini – Wonder Again, by Silver Hawk), adds a strong classic dimension to complement the miler speed supplied by Liam’s Map. She is a half-sister to Japanese stakes-winner Red Raven (by Smart Strike), a multiple stakes winner from mile-and-an-eighth to mile-and-a-quarter.
Colonel Liam’s second dam, Wonder Again (by Silver Hawk), is considered one of the best grass mares of her generation and noted for her intense rivalry with Riskaverse (by Dynaformer), the pair trading punches and victories over four years at the highest level.
Among Wonder Again’s five graded victories between a mile and a mile-and-a-quarter were the 2002 Garden City Breeders’ Cup Handicap (G1) and the 2004 Diana Handicap (G1).
Wonder Again’s full brother was the 1997 Japanese champion juvenile male Grass Wonder.
The family traces to the Rene-de-Course, Soaring, one of Darby Dan Farm’s most influential foundation broodmares, a female line long respected by breeders for consistently producing top-level performers, including Champions Glorious Song, Devil’s Bag, and the prominent stallion, Saint Ballado, who began his career at Ocala Stud. All three were full siblings by Halo, underscoring the depth and consistency of this proven female family.
Colonel Liam’s damsire, 2006 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Bernardini’s legacy is as a broodmare sire. In this capacity, he has 132 stakes winners, including last year’s Champion 3-Year-Old and Horse of the Year Sovereignty (by Into Mischief), 2024 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, Immersive (Nyquist) and four-time Grade 1 heroine Clairiere (by Curlin).
STUD CAREER
One of only three of Liam’s Map’s sons currently standing at stud, Colonel Liam combines athletic balance and an efficient stride with a pedigree speed layered over classic stamina, which he is likely to pass on to his offspring.
His first crop are 2-year-olds. They should inherit the tactical cruising speed needed to excel as turf or dirt milers, along with the ability to carry that speed effectively over middle distances, making a mile to a mile-and-an-eighth their natural range. When paired with mares that add additional stamina, he also has the potential to sire runners capable of stretching successfully to classic distances.
Colonel Liam is standing the 2026 season at Ocala Stud for $6,500 stands and nurses.
Return to the February 17 issue of Wire to Wire
