Stormy Liberal

After winning three of his first 16 starts, Stormy Liberal reeled off three straight stakes victories to start his 5-year-old campaign in 2017. He won the Clocker's Corner Stakes in January, the Joe Hernandez Stakes in March and the Siren Lure Stakes in April. He made it four straight stakes wins with a measured score in the Grade 3 Daytona Stakes on the Gold Cup undercard at Santa Anita.

Stormy Liberal finished eighth in the Grade 3 Jaipur Invitational Stakes in June at Belmont Park and then received a long break before trying his luck in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The bay gelding charged from off the pace at Del Mar in the Turf Sprint and nipped a game Richard's Boy by a head in the final strides for a career-defining victory.

Stormy Liberal returned in 2018 and posted a runner-up effort to Conquest Tsunami in his first start, the Daytona Stakes at Santa Anita Park in February. He followed that up with a close runner-up effort in the Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard.

In his first start after the Dubai trip, Stormy Liberal finished sixth in the Grade 2 Jaipur Invitational Stakes but he was only beaten by two lengths. He followed with an allowance win at Del Mar before closing to win the Green Flash Stakes by a nose on Aug. 17, also at Del Mar. Returning to the downhill turf course at Santa Anita for the Grade 3 Eddie D. Stakes on Sept. 28, Stormy Liberal reeled in Conquest Tsunami in the final strides to prevail by a head for his third straight victory. 

Seeking a repeat win in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs, Stormy Liberal made a bold move entering the stretch to draw even with World of Trouble and then out-battled that tenacious opponent to the finish line to prevail. Stormy Liberal joined Mizdirection as the only two-time winners in the history of the Turf Sprint.

Turf sprinters are rarely in the running for an Eclipse Award as champion turf male, but Stormy Liberal’s 2018 campaign made him an exception. He received the award at the January 2019 ceremony.

Stormy Liberal kicked off his 7-year-old season with a runner-up effort in the Jan. 1 Joe Hernandez Stakes. He again finished second in February, this time in an allowance race, but his connections were undeterred and shipped the gelding to Dubai to compete in the Al Quoz Sprint. Stormy Liberal employed his signature turn of foot in the stretch but could not catch winner Blue Point and runner-up Belvoir Bay, finishing third. He finished third again 4 1/2 months later in the Grade 3 Green Flash Stakes Aug. 17 at Del Mar. After a fifth-place finish at Kentucky Downs in the Runhappy Turf Sprint Stakes, Stormy Liberal returned to Southern California and ran third in the Grade 3 Eddie D Stakes Sept. 27 at Santa Anita Park.