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Hall of Fame - Black Condor
Original article written by Lori Hamill posted 14 years 3 weeks agoWho would have known that matching up El Condor Pasa with the tiny daughter of Sunday Silence, Orange Peel, would produce such a powerhouse of a foal in Black Condor? A true stroke of genius that would have a profound affect on SIM turf breeding lines now and in the future. Perhaps trainer Laura Ferguson saw some spark in the big black colt, maybe some inkling of greatness in his stance? “I must confess, I bought him mostly because of the name.” she reminisced. What a fateful decision that turned out to be.
Black Condor started his racing career winning the Grade 1 Tenno Sho Spring Stakes in week 4 of year 16, in Japan at a rare 2 mile distance. Who did he beat in that debut? Only the super filly Tearstreaked and a horse that would retire as a multimillionaire, Duel of the Stars. So began the career of one of the very best sires in the SIM. Looking back on that first stakes race, Ferguson remembers, “I rolled the dice in his first start. I had pretty much made up my mind he'd either win or finish last, so I wasn't all that surprised when I won. I don't know that another trainer would have necessarily started him out at 2 miles, but it definitely paid off in this case.”
Paid off, indeed! He raced ten times in his career, all graded stakes, and he never lost. Not once. In fact, he usually blew the competition away, quite literally. In his second start he won by thirteen lengths against vastly inferior competition. His running line for that race, the Grade 3 Henry the II stakes, says it all: “electrifying move around turn, romped.”
Next was the Grade 2 Gold Cup Stakes, again, the competition wasn’t there and he won by over nineteen lengths with the running line “never broke a canter.” It seemed like the top competition in the SIM were afraid to run against the lightning fast colt. Or maybe it was just that he was so good, every other horse that ran against him appeared to be mediocre. Horses that might have won strongly on any other day, Black Condor passed as if they were standing still. He won by over twelve lengths in the Stayers stakes, another Grade 2. In his final race of that year, he ran in another Grade 2 in the Arima Kinen Stakes (Grand Prix) beating two sons of El Rival Decade and his full sister, Rapid Orange.
Ferguson seemed to realize during the end of the year break that the only way her colt would face some real competition was in Grade 1 races. After a four week break Black Condor started year 17 with a repeat in the Tenno Sho Spring stakes, winning by four lengths and beating the feisty Tears of a Clown impressively. From there he shipped to Australia to run in the Grade 1 Brisbane Cup, with a purse of one million dollars on the line. He faced the young Superlative beating him soundly by six lengths despite having to check hard early in the race. Two weeks later he was back in the Caulfield Cup, the first and only time he ran at under 2 miles with possibly his most competitive field to date. Racing against the great fillies Anguilla and Choral and the tenacious Riskitforthestars it wasn’t until they were coming down the stretch that he was able to shake loose and win by four.
After a three week rest he came back to trounce Choral and Riskitforthestars again in the Sydney Cup, winning by two. In the final race of his career, the 2 million dollar Melbourne Cup, he faced his younger half brother in Miles Apart and once again, Riskitforthestars. It turned out to be his toughest challenge, dueling down the stretch with Miles Apart and edging him out at the wire to win by half of a length.
Black Condor finished his career with over 4 million in earnings, and won two SIMMY awards along the way, Australian Horse of the Year and Australian Champion Horse of the Year. Ten races, six Grade 1 wins, undefeated, there is no doubt that he deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.
As great as his race career was, it pales against his contributions in the breeding shed. Of his offspring, four are multi-million dollar earners. They include Atlantis and Midnight Flight, already great sires in their own right. Dream in the Dark who is still actively racing and the super mare Born Wild who appears to be a super broodmare, too. He has six more offspring that have made over one million dollars, which includes Bowman Field, Faith in Me, Sounds of Victory, Black Sands, Black Fox and Black Messiah. Of the eight millionaires, six are SIMMY winners with most being multiple SIMMY winners. Out of his 217 active prodigies an astounding 79.3% are winners with average earnings of over $260,000, he has an amazing 42.9% stakes winners.
Despite the recent pensioning of Black Condor, his affect on the SIM will continue for many more years to come. Definitely one of the top turf route sires, possibly even the best turf route sire in the SIM.