Condado (horse)

This article is about the horse named Condado. For other uses, see Condado (disambiguation).

Condado (Foaled 1934-Death Date Unknown) was a champion racehorse in Puerto Rico who was best known for his statistical achievements on the track which included having 152 career victories and at his peak a winning streak of 43 straight victories.

Condado
Breed	Thoroughbred
Sire	Gadstick
Grandsire	Broomstick
Dam	Purupupu
Damsire	Allumeur
Sex	Stallion
Country	Puerto Rico
Color	Chestnut
Breeder	Teodoro Viera
Owner	José Coll Vidal
Trainer	Pablo Suárez
Record	213:152-41-9
Earnings	$15,651
Major wins
Clásico Comercio (1936) Governor's Cup (1937) Clásico José E. Benedicto (1937) Clásico Navidad (1937,1938)
Honours
Puerto Rico Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1958)

Background

Condado was a chestnut colt foaled in 1934 in Potrero by breeder Teodoro Viera. He was owned by José Coll Vidal, the owner of Puerto Rican champions Cofresi and Camarero, and was trained by Pablo Suárez. He was out of American dam Purupupu, whose sire was a French-bred named Allumeur, while her dam, Olga Virginia, was a US-bred horse. Condado’s sire was an American stallion named Gadstick who descended from Ben Brush, a Hall of Fame champion racehorse who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby.

Career

Condado made his debut on July 17, 1936, in the Clásico Luis Muñoz Rivera, a race where many other Puerto Rican champions such as Galgo Jr made their debuts. He finished third and broke his maiden nine days later on July 26, 1936, in a time of 1:06.30 for the 1000-meter distance. His two-year-old season lasted seven races, and his first major victory came in the Clásico Comercio. The following year at the age of three, he began a streak where he ran against the greatest in Puerto Rico such as Yaucono and Chorisbar, who were the only horses to ever win more races than him. At the age of three, he ran 39 times and lost once, beating out Galgo Jr's 30 victories as a three-year-old, Yaucono's 32-win three-year-old season, and Chorisbar's 37-win six-year-old season. The only horse who ever won more races in one year was Lenoxbar, who won 46 times in 56 races. The following year at the age of four, Condado lost one out of 31 starts.

On February 5, 1939 at Quintana Racetrack he ran against imported racehorses and won under jockey Guillermo Escobar with 105 pounds of weight aboard. Throughout his career, he was given very light weights maxing out at 125 pounds, compared to other Puerto Rican champions such as Galgo Jr, who withstood weights as high as 132 pounds during his career. Condado won against imported horses with jockey Raúl Sánchez aboard under 95 pounds at 1 mile and 70 yards in 1:49.10.

Later in his career at the ages of six and seven, he ran 81 times, winning 59 races. During this period, he set track records at distances of 1000 meters to 1 1/16 miles. One of the records was at Quintana while the other four came at Las Monjas. He won 2 of 21 starts at age 8 and ran very selectively in his final season, racing 5 times and winning 3 of them. By the end of his career, he raced 213 times with 152 victories and finished third or better 202 times.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Condado (PR), chestnut stallion, 1934

Sire Gadstick (USA) 1929	Broomstick 1901	Ben Brush 1893	Bramble 1875
			Roseville 1888
		Elf 1893	Galliard 1880
			Sylvabelle 1887
	Gadfly 1920	Chicle 1913	Spearmint 1903
			Lady Hamburg 1908
		Gadiola 1914	Cylgad 1909
			Mineold 1901
Dam Purupulpu	Allumeur 1911	Meddler 1890	St.Gatien 1881
			Busybody 1881
		Strike A Light 1896	Donovan 1886
			Fulse 1888
	Olga Virginia 1920	Celt 1905	Commando 1898
			Maid Of Erin 1895
		Censure 1910	Star Ruby 1892
			Dicipline 1906