Dubai: Legendary American racehorse Cigar, who will forever be remembered for winning the inaugural Dubai World Cup (G1) in 1996, has died at the age of 24.
Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, Cigar showed what a great champion he was when he outduelled fellow American raider Soul Of The Matter on Nad Al Sheba Racecourse’s dirt track, to win the $4 million (Dh14.69 million) contest by half a length.
It was the great horse’s 14th consecutive victory, a record that he would extend to 16, before suffering defeat in the 1996 Pacific Classic at Del Mar when attempting to pass Citation’s record of 17 straight wins.
He was retired at the end of the year as the leading all-time money earner with $4,819,800 and stood briefly at Ashford Stud in Kentucky where unfortunately, he proved infertile as a stallion.
Cigar then spent the remainder of his life at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, before his death on Tuesday.
However, the son of Palace Music has left behind a glorious legacy in the form of his big race wins which include the Hollywood Gold Cup, Jockey Cup Gold Cup, Donn Handicap, Woodward Handicap and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
But it was his triumph in Dubai that really helped him to carve a niche in racing history.
Cigar travelled over 13,000 miles from America to Dubai and took on the challenge of racing without Lasix, a diuretic that is legal in America, and under floodlights for the first time.
In the Dubai World Cup he took on the might of horses from Japan, Britain, Ireland and Australia, while the Dubai-based Godolphin stable fielded four runners.
Things did not go according to plan as the gates opened for the historic first running of the world’s richest race.
Cigar stumbled and Bailey had to deploy all his skills to settle his mount in the 10-runner field.
Another American hopeful L’Carriere led for most of the trip before Bailey asked Cigar for his effort in the straight. The 14-race winner’s response was immediate and he flew into the lead as the appreciative roars of the 30,000 strong crowd threatened to blow the roof off the Nad Al Sheba grandstand.
But even as the finishing post loomed, Soul Of The Matter produced a dramatic late challenge under his Hall Of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and a great battle resulted.
The last few furlongs seemed endless as the two American horses raced toe-to-toe, eyeball-to-eyeball, before Cigar could extract just that little extra to hold off his rival.
“We thought the reward was worth the risk,” said a relieved trainer Bill Mott, who, before departing for Dubai, had famously compared the expedition to a trip to the moon.
Like all great horses, Cigar had shown himself to be a true champion in the most difficult challenge of his life.
