Few sports activities followers ever have the privilege of watching a world-class coach domesticate a champion athlete—and even fewer followers have the chance to witness the event of an elite animal athlete. The transformation of Cigar from a horse that confirmed modest turf means to at least one that developed right into a legend on dust illustrates how crucial a coach’s position may be in our sport.
The transformation of Cigar from a horse that confirmed modest turf means to at least one that developed right into a legend on dust illustrates how crucial a coach’s position may be.
The son of Palace Music went unraced at 2 earlier than profitable two of 9 begins the next season for his first coach, Alex Hassinger Jr. He completed his 3-year-old marketing campaign with earnings of $89,175 however was unable to win in stakes competitors.
At that time, proprietor and breeder Allen Paulson made the choice that modified all the pieces. He shipped Cigar from the West Coast to the East, so he may very well be overseen by Invoice Mott, a Corridor of Fame coach.
Mott, all the time one to take his time, didn’t return Cigar to competitors till July. After a pair of third-place finishes on turf, Mott shifted Cigar to dust. The consequence was an eight-length romp in a one mile allowance race at Aqueduct on Oct. 28, 1994.
The lopsided victory triggered a 16-race profitable streak that allowed Cigar to succeed at varied distances and match Quotation for the longest such streak by a significant American horse. Quotation swept 16 in a row from 1948-50.
Jerry Bailey, Cigar’s common rider, offers Mott a lot of the credit score for that accomplishment. “My perception is that Cigar was a real, pure miler, among the best I’ve ever been on. He jogged my memory of a Seattle Slew kind,” Bailey stated. “In Mott’s palms, he was capable of stretch out to a mile and 1 / 4. We needed to coax it out of him. Typically it was simpler than others to coax Cigar.”
Most followers would say that Cigar’s signature triumph occurred within the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Traditional at Belmont Park. It capped an unforgettable 10-for-10 marketing campaign that earned $4,819,800 and led him to be honored as Horse of the 12 months and champion older male.
It was nearly as if Cigar understood the magnitude of the Traditional as a result of he couldn’t wait to get to the lead. He pulled on Bailey whereas the rider fought to take care of a good maintain, aware of the mile-and-a-quarter distance.
“I assumed the whip was going to fall out of my palms,” Bailey stated. “In that specific race, the one motive I let him go once I did was I had no extra feeling in my palms. My fingers have been numb from him pulling on the reins.”
Cigar roared dwelling in a stakes report time of 1:59.58, accompanied by a race name from Tom Durkin that will probably be remembered by the ages. Durkin exclaimed as Cigar powered towards the wire: “And right here he’s, the unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!”
As gallantly as Cigar fought that afternoon, Bailey noticed a really completely different animal when he introduced his son, Justin, to the barn the next morning. Cigar put his head down and nuzzled the 3-year-old.
“He was a really charismatic and funky horse to be round,” Bailey stated. “Aside from race day, Cigar was smooth and delicate, as heat and fuzzy as you might need.”
Cigar started 1996 with a 12-race profitable streak that rapidly turned to 13 when he prepped for the inaugural Dubai World Cup with a repeat victory within the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Florida. There was huge uncertainty surrounding the World Cup, for the reigning Horse of the 12 months was battling foot issues and he must face up to a journey to a land half a world away.
Bailey’s fears eased as soon as Cigar engaged Soul of the Matter, his major rival. “I feel he beat numerous horses earlier than he ever drew away from them with the way in which he cruised as much as different horses and eyeballed them,” the rider stated. “Cigar was overlaying the identical floor with much more ease. I feel inherently the opposite horse knew he couldn’t sustain.”
Soul of the Matter couldn’t, and the soft-spoken Mott watched contentedly as Cigar dug deep to earn his 14th consecutive triumph on a world stage. Two extra victories, within the Massachusetts Handicap and within the Arlington Quotation Problem, the latter created by Arlington Park to suit the event, allowed Cigar to equal Quotation’s mark.
That set the stage for the Pacific Traditional at Del Mar close to San Diego. After having issues break Cigar’s manner so typically, nothing went proper for him within the Pacific Traditional. Cigar and Bailey have been caught up in a scorching velocity duel with Siphon and Dramatic Gold, prompting them to go the primary three-quarters of a mile in a crackling 1:09 1/5 seconds. It was ruinous for all three as longshot Dare and Go, patiently ridden by Alex Solis, swept by for the upset. Cigar was second.
He would overcome the inauspicious begin to his profession to win 19 occasions in 33 races and end with earnings of $9,999,813. The second Bailey remembers most, although, is his go to to Cigar within the check barn after the Pacific Traditional. It had turn into his behavior to reward him after every race with a peppermint.
Cigar, proud champion that he was, refused the peppermint.
Word: This story was initially printed in November 2016 and has been up to date.
Enjoyable Info
- Cigar was not named for a tobacco product however a navigational checkpoint.
- His dam, Photo voltaic Slew, was by 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.
- In line with Paulson household lore, Madeleine Paulson was the unique proprietor of Cigar however traded him to her husband, Allen, for Eliza, the 1992 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner.
- The New York Racing Affiliation renamed their fall function the Cigar Mile in 1997. Beforehand the NYRA Mile, the 1994 race was Cigar’s first graded stakes win.
- BloodHorse journal ranked Cigar 18th among the many high 100 Thoroughbreds of the twentieth Century.
- Cigar, who proved to be infertile, lived on the Kentucky Horse Park’s Corridor of Champions in Lexington, Ky. in retirement till his loss of life in 2014.
