Condo Commando, Durkin's call thrill in Spinaway

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Winning a Grade 1 race like the Spinaway is a great thrill for any trainer. But for Rudy Rodriguez, Condo Commando’s 13 1/4-length triumph over a sloppy track here Sunday was doubly special, coming as it did in the last race ever called by legendary announcer Tom Durkin.

“Condo Commando was splashtastic!” were the final words of Durkin’s memorable career – words that Rodriguez said he and his family will savor forever.

“To be in a position to have something like that happen, for a legend like Tom Durkin to call your horse the winner in his final call, is unbelievable,” said Rodriguez. “And to have to make the call he did for us, believe me I’ll save the tape of that race forever, as will my son and the rest of the family.”

Rodriguez was actually lucky to still have Condo Commando in his barn for the Spinaway after having run her for a $75,000 claiming tag here earlier this summer in her first start. A daughter of Tiz Wonderful owned by Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables, and The Elkstone Group, Condo Commando won her debut by 12 lengths.

I told Mike and the other owners I knew she could run, but that she had a lot of issues and I didn’t know how long she’d last,” Rodriguez said. “I had to back off her several times down at Belmont, once for almost five weeks, and she wasn’t near fit for her first start. I didn’t want to run her against those good 2-year-olds of [Todd Pletcher’s] and some of the others up here in a maiden special weight under those conditions, because she would have had to run so hard, might have overextended herself, and then we’d have to back off her again. I thought we had her in the right spot the first time, and fortunately nobody took her.”

Rodriguez said he was a little concerned that Condo Commando got off to a slow start in the Spinaway, but otherwise extremely pleased with her performance. Ridden by Joe Bravo, Condo Commando received a 92 Beyer.

“She just dragged Joe to the lead,” he said. “I told him to pretend this was Monmouth Park and send her to the front. I didn’t want her getting hooked up with other horses on the lead, or pinned down inside on the rail.”

Rodriguez said he would talk to the owners before deciding where Condo Commando would run next.

“She came out of the race well, ate up everything, so we’ll see what we want to do,” Rodriguez said. “I think she’ll go further, and the fact she seems to be doing so well now and is so easy to train when she’s right, it gives us a lot of options.”