His handlers had hoped the horse would run in the 1982 Kentucky Derby but he was kept out by a leg injury that wasn't healing to the point where his trainer was satisfied it would be completely safe.
In the 1982 Belmont Stakes, Conquistador Cielo defeated the opposition, beating Kentucky Derby champion Gato Del Sol by 14 lengths.
Retired to stud duty at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, Conquistador Cielo didn't quite live up to expectations but nevertheless sired more than 60 stakes race winners.
Among his progeny were stakes winners Marquetry, Forty Niner Days, Alannon, Mi Cielo, Wagon Limit, and Lexicon.
At age 23, the horse suffered an injury to his knee that brought on an acute case of founder in his left front leg.