Countess Adios was known for being the model of good health, as he trainer-driver Del Miller, attested on many occasions. She had never had any medicine for sickness, had never been injected for soreness, had never been fired, blistered or the like, he reported. During her rugged 2- and 3-three-year old seasons she had proved herself as tough as nails in withstanding the rigors of fast racing on hard tracks and excessive shipping throughout the country. During both years she had raced from early in the spring to late in the fall. She is a fast game race horse and able to withstand a grueling grind.

Early in her 2-year-old season, Miller knew that anytime she was not going right there was something radically wrong. She started out her juvenile career at Rosecroft in Maryland and in her first starts raced around 2:06 with facility. In fact in June of 1959, she took a 2:05 record at Laurel Raceway. At Goshen, N.Y. a few weeks later, she made a break in the filly stake. This was the first break that the free wheeling free-legged filly had made and, incidentally, the only one that she has made in two years or racing.

"I knew there was something wrong with her when she made that break. She's not that kind of a filly. I suspected at first that she might be coming up with curbs," Miller had noted.

Veterinarians were called in but they could find nothing. Finally she developed a slight swelling around the back of one hind foot.

"We were at Buffalo and Billy Haughton was there with me," Miller said. "I took my pen knife and probed around the frog and hit something metallike. I found a big screw as long as my finger (he measured off somewhere between 2½ and three inches on his index finger) which went from the frog up to the back of her heel. We still have the screw and I'm going to have it plated and a pin made out of it. After she recovered from that, I don't believe she lost a heat the rest of the year." 

Countess Adios went on and won the $36,000 Devotion pace on Aug. 12 and, with the exception of the Fox Stake in which she was involved in an accident, won every start from then on. This included her 2-year-old record of 1:592/5 in the Hanover Shoe Filly Stake at Lexington. Moreover, she had continued this gratifying habit of winning into this season in which she has lost just two heats. One in the Messenger trial early in the spring in which she finished fourth and the other was at Lexington, which has been discussed. Through Arden Downs, she has won 20 out of 22 starts and was second once.

Countess Adios was a daughter of Countess Vivian, the late Christy Hayes' great world champion three year old filly of 1953. Miller was the driver of Countess Vivian and was behind her at Du Quoin when she set a world race record of 1:59 for three year old pacing fillies, an outstanding feat at that time. Since Miller piloted both Countess Vivian and her world-champion daughter Countess Adios he was asked if there was any likeness between the way the two went.

"They're not at all alike," Miller responded. "Countess Vivian was bigger, higher going and longer striding. Countess Adios is smaller and smoother and lower going." Miller then went on to describe Countess Adios as an extremely fine filly with an extremely sensitive mouth. In fact, her bit is only a soft leather bar.

"We break all our colts at Meadowlands in a leather bit," Miller went on, "and this filly has never needed anything other than a leather bit because she has such a fine mouth. Some colts don't like a leather bit but she does."

Other equipment on her head include a regular over check bit and Can't See Back blinds.

"She leaves real good and from the top of the stretch finishes real strong. During the other part of the mile she's inclined to let up a little if I don't keep after her. I don't mean that I have to whip her—just shake her up a little and sometimes tap the saddle pad."

The Armstrong Brothers and Hugh Grant, patrons of the Del Miller Stable bought Countess Adios for $25,000 as a yearling in the Meadowlands' consignment at Harrisburg in the fall of 1958. She was then taken to Ben White Raceway at Orlando with the rest of the Miller colts, and given to Jimmy Arthur to train while Miller went to Europe.Upon Miller's return, he found Countess Adios pacing easily and doing well in training. However, an incident was to occur which would make a major change in her equipment.

Since that time she was trained and raced free legged. In her races, Miller drives her with the touch of the master reinsman that he is. Between his magic touch on the lines and her sure and pure gait there is never a ripple in her way of going.

Countess Adios did more than set race records. She was the all time money winning 3-year-old pacer in a single season with earnings of $166,722 in 1960. Only a few other horses, regardless of age, had ever won more in a single season. Bye Bye Byrd rolled up $212,433 in 1959, Scott Frost recorded $186,101 in 1955 and Belle Acton $167,887 in 1958. Coupled with her two year old winnings of $60,922 her total for two years at the races is $227,355. This year she has won 20 out of 22 heats. Last year she won 17 out of 28.

As a 2-year old, Countess Adios took a 2:022/5 half mile track record in the Devotion stake and a 1:592/5 mile track record in the Hanover Shoe Filly Stake. At 3, she has reduced both of these with her 1:591/5 trip at Delaware, and her 1:573/5 track record on the mile Sedalia strip.

At 3 she faced some of racing's finest of the day, including Muncy Hanover, Betting Time, Sampson Direct, and Knight Time. Following her spring tour at the Manhattan tracks, which began early, April 7 to be exact, Countess Adios kept her muscles toned up by winning the Ladyship Stake at Goshen, fastest heat in 2:001/5, the Floral Temple stake at Vernon, reducing her two-year-old record of 1:592/5 to 1:584/5 and then the W. N. Reynolds at Buffalo.

She won the $142,000 Messenger Stake on May 14 in 2:021/5 at Roosevelt. On June 16, she bearded the tigers again in their den and won the mile and a sixteenth $65,000 Cane Futurity in 2:08, the second leg of the Triple Crown.  At Sportsman's Park on Aug. 12, she bested her mail rivals by pacing in 2:00.2, and went on to breeze through the breeder's filly stakes at Springfield, Sedalia, and Du Quoin and passed up Indianapolis for the $25,000 Governor's Cup at Roosevelt, which she won in 2:33.2, in front of 35,000 New York fans.

At Sedalia, track and world records fell before the onslaught. Her first heat win of 1:573/5 was a new track record for the Missouri State Fair oval, and her second heat of 1:584/5 set a new world record for two heats for three year old pacers as she dethroned both Bye Bye Byrd and Flaming Arrow in one coup. At Delaware, Ohio, again in the Breeders' Filly Stake she made her famous assault in the world record table. With heats of 1:591/5 and 2:00, she set six different individual and heat records. The 1:591/5 was a world record for 3-year-old pacers, but stood only a few days until lowered to 1:583/5 on Jug day by Muncy and Bullet Hanover.

The result of the Hanover Shoe Filly stake at Lexington was startling when Countess Adios dropped the first heat to her stable mate, Meadow Helene in 2:003/5. To be sure there were fillies in this race such as Meadow Helene and Romola Hanover, top class in any league, but they had scarcely been able to warm up the young daughter of Adios and Countess Vivian this year. She atoned for this in the following heat with a 1:594/5 triumph.

Countess Adios kept her flesh well but is not a big eater. According to her caretaker, Jim Arthur, Sr. she gets six quarts of grain daily, including two quarts of bran mash at night. She was shod plainly, with a light plain steel shoe in front set on a 45 degree angle with a 31/2 inch toe. Behind she wore the typical half round half swedge pacing shoe, a 3¼ inch toe and 52 degree angle.

Countess Adios was the dam of five foals, with the most notable being Armbro Penny (by Tar Heel) p,2, 1:58.3 ($67,884).