Cigar is a horse that some people don't give the credit he deserves. The cite as evidence in support of their claim that once Holy Bull came up lame in the 1995 Donn Handicap and was retired, Cigar didn't have any competition to speak of, that he never beat anybody. Well, I think all of that is pure hogwash! Once Cigar started his 1995 season, his first of back-to-back Horse of the Year campaigns, he consistently faced Grade I competition, and he was consistently great. Cigar is a horse that has, in our opinion justifiably, received a tremendous amount of coverage in our community here at Horse Racing Fantasy. That's right there is a testament to his popularity among racing fans all these years later. Our community has shared with you his win in the 1995 Breeders' Cup Classic, the 1996 Dubai World Cup (the first one), and his record tying 16th consecutive victory at Arlington Park in 1996's Citation Challenge. He was always impressive, certainly, but the race I'm gonna share with you today is probably my favorite, and here's why: He was literally not asked for anything at all in this race by jockey Jerry Bailey. In fact, along the backstretch Bailey had to hold him back! That's one thing in an allowance race, but this was the Grade I Gulfstream Park Handicap. I think that Cigar could have won this race by a much wider margin lengths had Bailey asked him to, but there was no need. Cigar held the title of world's richest thoroughbred for a long time, and he deserves all the praise he gets. What a racehorse!
Sure, Cigar ran his best races at a mile and more, but if you want you can saddle him up and try your luck with him at six furlongs. He also had extensive experience on grass, so you may have success with him there, too. You can ride Cigar in any race and at any distance here in our fantastic online horse racing game, where we feature the perfect blend of fantasy and reality!
I have to say his Dubai Cup is still etched in my memory step for step...It seemed so surreal, Soul of the Matter coming up to him, and yet C-man played with him so it seemed like a master violinist...They could have run around the track 10 times and no horse on earth was going toget by Cigar that day...Writing history in the sand with their hooves...
Horse racing is my life, so when I read a blog like this, I get excited. Any other member in the community have something to say? Your feedback is important. Yes, enjoy our racing game, but please also comment, good or bad. Our writers can take it. Let them know what you think about their stories.
I can only think of 4 horses who have won 16 straight against top competition .CIGAR AND CITATION IN AMERICA,and Silent witness in Hong Kong and Ribot in europe.That is a very exclusive club.Silent Witness did go on and win 17 breaking the record.
Six ,two and even ...over and out
ok i acually met cigar in real life. me and my dad went to kentucky horse park when he was there. i didnt know who he was, but now i do!
I think that this is a very informative blog post, but I do wish that the video actually worked. :( Cigar sounds like an amazing horse!!
Owner of Angel the teddy bear hamster. Joined March 3/20/11.
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