Patience the Key for Condo Commando

The temptation is certainly there when a budding 2-year-old filly draws off to win a grade I at Saratoga Race Course by 13 1/4 lengths. However, the connections of Condo Commando showed great resolve in not shipping their young filly across the country to Santa Anita Park for the Breeders' Cup World Championships last fall.



That move seems to awaiting a big payoff May 1 in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) for owner Michael Dubb, Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group, and Mike Caruso's Bethlehem Stables. Their filly has rattled off a pair of wins in 2015 in New York and is poised to be one of the top selections for the Oaks.



Condo Commando, by Tiz Wonderful out of the multiple grade II-winning Yearly Report (by General Meeting), was a $72,000 purchase from breeder Spendthrift Farm at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale. The ownership group, which had amazing success in 2014, gambled with Condo Commando in the beginning, running her for a $75,000 tag first time out at Saratoga.



Going 5 1/2 furlongs Aug. 3, she won by 12 lengths.



Immediately pitched to the seven-furlong Spinaway Stakes (gr. I) Aug. 31, she again crushed the competition with her 13 1/4-length tour de force. She stubbed her toe Oct. 4 at Belmont Park, finishing fourth in the one-mile Frizette Stakes (gr. I)—however, the Breeders' Cup still beckoned.



"I took a lot of restraint on the team—meaning Rudy and the three others—because it was incredibly tempting to ship her across the country," Grant said. "And when we saw the (speed) numbers that came out of that race, I said, 'Boy, that could have been ours.' But I also know that with a 2-year-old filly you have to be careful. Shipping across the country and running like that takes its toll."



Condo Commando stayed in New York with trainer Rudy Rodriquez, winning the nine-furlong Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) by 11 lengths, then was given an "easy" winter at Aqueduct Racetrack. She made her 2015 bow Feb. 21 in the listed Busher Stakes, which she won by 4 3/4 lengths, then prepped for the Oaks with a 2 1/2-length score in the Gazelle Stakes (gr. II).

"This is the sweet spot we've been looking for," Grant said. "The horse has responded. Rudy has done a great job. We've been patient instead of running for the big bucks and it's all falling into place."

"We also skipped Florida; that was a decision I made," Dubb said. "A few years ago we shipped Grace Hall to Florida and she won both preps but by the time she got to Kentucky, she was maybe a little past peak. I noticed what they did with Princess of Sylmar and they won the Oaks (in 2013). I wanted to make it as easy as possible on her and give her as less stress than I possibly could and get her to Kentucky with plenty in the tank."



Grant, along with Dubb and Caruso, are on quite a roll. Last year, along with Condo Commando, they've won stakes with New York-bred Good Luck Gus, Canadian grade III winner Native Bombshell, and Abraham. A trio of stakes winners represented Grant's The Elkstone Group in 2014: Duff, Edge of Reality, and Kawfee Fa Marfa.



Both Dubb and Grant got serious about their involvement in racing more than a decade ago and have hit some of racing's heights together and separately. Dubb is a real estate developer in New York, Grant is a lawyer, and Caruso is a retired insurance executive.



The trio came to Churchill Downs with the Tony Dutrow-trained Grace Hall in 2012. Second in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) to champion My Miss Aurelia at the Louisville oval, she won the Gulfstream Park Oaks (gr. II) on her way to the Kentucky Oaks. Sent off the 5-2 favorite, she finished third to Brereton Jones' Believe You Can and Broadway's Alibi.



"Expectations are everything," Grant said. "We were expecting to win and when she finished third we were devastated. It was just awful. I can contrast that with, the year before we took J W Blue up to the Travers Stakes (gr. I) and he went off at 32-1 and ran third and we partied like there was no tomorrow."

Dubb can take it one further. He was a co-owner of Sis City who finished fourth in the Oaks as the 2-5 choice in 2005 after winning the Davona Dale Stakes (gr. II) by 16 lengths and Keeneland's Ashland Stakes (gr. I) by 10 1/2 lengths.

"With having the favorite, your expectations are so high; there is very little margin for error," Grant said. "If we're the favorite I hope we are not like the Kentucky basketball team (38-0 before losing in the NCAA tournament's final four) and roll over everybody in lots of games and then all of a sudden get shocked. But that's why they run the race and why they play the game."