This Kentucky-bred already had a connection to Southern California the moment he was foaled. His sire became a legend out here several years earlier, and his damsire had been a stakes winner in the area some twenty years prior.

Like those family members, destiny sent Colonel John to the Southland. And he would make his mark out there during his racing years.

Sired by Tiznow and a descendant of Turkoman, Colonel John debuted at Del Mar in 2007. Trainer Eoin Harty must have felt his charge might have been a good one, for he recruited noted money rider Garrett Gomez to pilot the colt. Starting widest of all in post twelve, Colonel John showed promise, running well to take second while traversing six furlongs.

Anyone who followed Tiznow's career knows that the Cal-bred did well at longer distances. Therefore, it was perfectly logical to conclude Colonel John could benefit with more ground. He confirmed that next time out at Santa Anita. With new dance partner Corey Nakatani and a more favorable post, Colonel John raced into early contention before assuming the lead and winning the seven-furlong race. That performance launched him into the stakes scene at Hollywood Park, where he showed he inherited Tiznow's talent for routing by taking the mile and one-sixteenth Real Quiet Stakes before wrapping up the year with a second in the Grade I CashCall Futurity at the same distance.

As the 2008 season got underway, a question surrounding Colonel John was whether he could build upon his juvenile season, particularly after he finished first and second in a pair of stakes. He did just that in late winter, winning the Grade III Sham Stakes at Santa Anita with a gritty stretch run. Reunited with Gomez for the Sham, he got Nakatani back for the mile and one-eighth Santa Anita Derby. Racing well off the pace, Colonel John came after the leaders in the stretch, racing wide but getting up in time in a well-deserved victory to stamp his ticket for the Kentucky Derby.

Competing in a race that Tiznow never got the chance to try, Colonel John was never a factor in the Triple Crown opener. Racing at the back early on, he cleared the majority of the field before turning for home, finishing up in sixth place. But he came back to take third in Hollywood Park's Grade II Swaps Stakes (a race that both Tiznow and Turkoman placed in) and followed that up with a classic victory of his own.

Sent to the Grade I Travers Stakes that August, Colonel John teamed up with Gomez again. The bay did not get the best start, but he recovered to stay within a few lengths of the top spot while saving ground. In contention in the stretch, Colonel John showed his moxie once more. He held off Mambo in Seattle by a nose, getting the biggest win of his career while joining Tiznow as a winner at ten furlongs.

The colt also added to the family history with his Travers triumph. Tiznow never raced in the Travers, but Turkoman did, taking second place in the 1985 renewal.

Given the chance to become a Breeders' Cup Classic winner like his father, Colonel John tried the big race in 2008, but the trophy eluded him as he ended up sixth. He cut back in distance several weeks later when he returned to sprinting in the Grade I Malibu Stakes, but his sophomore year concluded with a fourth. Even so, there was plenty to be proud of, including winning a pair of prestigious Grade I events.

Following the Malibu, Colonel John came back to the races in the summer of 2009. A new challenge awaited him in his return, for he was asked to try turf in the one-mile Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar. After almost a year since his last win, Colonel John got his picture taken once more (with Gomez in the irons) while becoming a winner on dirt, synthetic and turf. He tried to utilize that momentum with a good showing in the Grade I Pacific Classic, but exited Del Mar with another off the board result. He rebounded with a nice runner-up effort in the Grade I Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita (which that stretch run not unlike the one he put together in the Santa Anita Derby). Using that as a prep for another shot in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Colonel John tried once more to capture the big race. But it again proved out of reach, as Colonel John came in fifth.

Retired after the Breeders' Cup Classic with six overall victories in fifteen career starts, Colonel John has gone on to sire multiple stakes winners:

Concave won the Grade II Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar in 2013, while Southern Honey got him a win at Churchill Downs when she won the Grade III Winning Colors in 2014.

Airoforce won Keeneland's Grade III Dixiana Bourbon Stakes in 2015 before taking second in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and Dalmore captured Santa Anita's Grade III Affirmed Stakes in 2016.

Colonelsdarktemper has placed in several graded events, and is the winner of 2017's Grade III West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer.

And La Coronel is the owner of a couple of Grade III contests along with the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in 2017.

Colonel John may not have been a divisonal champion or Horse of the Year like Tiznow, but he was a rugged competitor capable of winning at the highest level while answering the call to take on various surfaces and distances.

He can also call himself one of the top three-year-olds of his day, and he did so by being an all-around talented racehorse in his own right.