Cigar (USA)
April 18, 1990 – October 7, 2014
Palace Music (USA) x Solar Slew (USA), by Seattle Slew (USA)
Family 2-g
April 18, 1990 – October 7, 2014
Palace Music (USA) x Solar Slew (USA), by Seattle Slew (USA)
Family 2-g
A modest runner on turf, Cigar found his niche when moved to the dirt, winning 16 straight races to tie Citation's modern American record for consecutive victories and becoming one of the most acclaimed runners of the 1990s. His streak included a perfect 10-for-10 season in 1995, capped by the Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1), and also included the inaugural Dubai World Cup in 1996. Unfortunately, Cigar proved completely sterile when tried at stud. His legacy is his excellence on the racetrack, where for one brilliant season, in the words of race caller Tom Durkin, he was “the incomparable, the invincible, the unbeatable Cigar!”
Race record
33 starts, 19 wins, 4 seconds, 5 thirds, US$9,999,815
1993:
1994:
1995:
1996:
Honors
Assessments
Cigar was rated #18 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1994, 6 pounds below highweighted Colonial Affair and 5 pounds below the official divisional champion The Wicked North.
Highweighted at 132 pounds on the 1995 International Classifications.
Highweighted at 136 pounds on the 1996 International Classifications.
Cigar's top Timeform rating of 138 pounds, given retrospectively, was the highest ever awarded to a North American runner up to that time. He was later tied by American Pharoah in 2015.
As an individual
A beautifully conformed bay with a long, low stride, Cigar stood 16.1 hands. He had a scar on his chest from a collision with a fence while a weanling. He had chips removed from both knees following his 3-year-old season. He was a hard puller on the track but thoroughly game as a competitor. While he earned the nickname “The Hammer” as a foal for his habit of lashing out with hoofs at anyone who got close enough, he matured into a kind-natured horse. He enjoyed interacting with people and had the reputation of being a “ham” who would happily pose for the camera. He loved peppermint candies.
Connections
Cigar was bred and owned by Allen Paulson, who raced the horse in partnership with his wife Madeleine before selling a 75% interest in Cigar's breeding rights to Coolmore Stud. He was foaled in Maryland at Country Life Farm. He was trained by Alec Hassinger at 3 and by Bill Mott at ages 4-6. He was ridden by Jerry Bailey throughout his championship seasons. Following his retirement from racing, Cigar entered stud in Kentucky at Coolmore's Kentucky division, Ashford Stud, but proved infertile. Treatments were futile, leading to a reported US$25 million insurance payoff. Cigar became a resident of the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions in 1999, where he greeted fans and made new ones for 15 years. He died at nearby Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in 2014 following surgery for severe osteoarthritis in his neck. He is buried at the Kentucky Horse Park's Memorial Walk of Champions.
Pedigree notes
Cigar is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Mulca (by Raised Socially), the 1991 champion imported 3-year-old filly in Puerto Rico; to Corridora Slew (by Corridor Key), dam of Grade 3 winner Laura's Lucky Boy (by Theatrical); and to Arcadiana (by Deputy Minister), dam of Grade 3 winner Cigar Street (by Street Sense). His dam Solar Slew is a half sister to listed stakes winner Jungle Gold (by Master Willie). His second dam Gold Sun (by Solazo) is a Group 1-winning sprinter in her native Argentina and is a full or half sister to three other stakes winners including 1971 Gran Premio Selección (Argentine Oaks, ARG-G1) winner Jungle Duchess (by Make Tracks).
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photograph taken by Jessica Morgan at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2011. Used by permission.
Last updated: September 29, 2023
Race record
33 starts, 19 wins, 4 seconds, 5 thirds, US$9,999,815
1993:
- 2nd Volante Handicap (USA-G3, 9FT, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Ascot Handicap (USA-G3, 8.5FT, Bay Meadows)
1994:
- Won NTRA Mile Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Aqueduct)
1995:
- Won Donn Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Gulfstream Park Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Oaklawn Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Oaklawn)
- Won Pimlico Special Handicap (USA-G1, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- Won Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Hollywood)
- Won Woodward Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1, 10FD, Belmont)
- Won Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1, 10FD, Belmont)
- Won Massachusetts Handicap (USA-L, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
1996:
- Won Donn Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Woodward Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- Won Dubai World Cup (UAE-L, 2000mD, Nad al Sheba)
- Won Massachusetts Handicap (USA-L, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
- Won Arlington Citation Challenge (USA-L, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- 2nd Pacific Classic Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Del Mar)
- 2nd Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1, 10FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Breeders' Cup Classic (CAN-G1, 10FD, Woodbine)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1989)
- Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame (inducted in the inaugural class of 2013)
- Eclipse Award, American Horse of the Year (1995, 1996)
- Eclipse Award, American champion older male (1995, 1996)
- Maryland-bred Horse of the Year (1995, 1996)
- Maryland-bred champion older male (1995, 1996)
- Highweighted older male, 9.5 to 11 furlongs, United Arab Emirates (1996)
Assessments
Cigar was rated #18 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1994, 6 pounds below highweighted Colonial Affair and 5 pounds below the official divisional champion The Wicked North.
Highweighted at 132 pounds on the 1995 International Classifications.
Highweighted at 136 pounds on the 1996 International Classifications.
Cigar's top Timeform rating of 138 pounds, given retrospectively, was the highest ever awarded to a North American runner up to that time. He was later tied by American Pharoah in 2015.
As an individual
A beautifully conformed bay with a long, low stride, Cigar stood 16.1 hands. He had a scar on his chest from a collision with a fence while a weanling. He had chips removed from both knees following his 3-year-old season. He was a hard puller on the track but thoroughly game as a competitor. While he earned the nickname “The Hammer” as a foal for his habit of lashing out with hoofs at anyone who got close enough, he matured into a kind-natured horse. He enjoyed interacting with people and had the reputation of being a “ham” who would happily pose for the camera. He loved peppermint candies.
Connections
Cigar was bred and owned by Allen Paulson, who raced the horse in partnership with his wife Madeleine before selling a 75% interest in Cigar's breeding rights to Coolmore Stud. He was foaled in Maryland at Country Life Farm. He was trained by Alec Hassinger at 3 and by Bill Mott at ages 4-6. He was ridden by Jerry Bailey throughout his championship seasons. Following his retirement from racing, Cigar entered stud in Kentucky at Coolmore's Kentucky division, Ashford Stud, but proved infertile. Treatments were futile, leading to a reported US$25 million insurance payoff. Cigar became a resident of the Kentucky Horse Park's Hall of Champions in 1999, where he greeted fans and made new ones for 15 years. He died at nearby Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in 2014 following surgery for severe osteoarthritis in his neck. He is buried at the Kentucky Horse Park's Memorial Walk of Champions.
Pedigree notes
Cigar is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Mulca (by Raised Socially), the 1991 champion imported 3-year-old filly in Puerto Rico; to Corridora Slew (by Corridor Key), dam of Grade 3 winner Laura's Lucky Boy (by Theatrical); and to Arcadiana (by Deputy Minister), dam of Grade 3 winner Cigar Street (by Street Sense). His dam Solar Slew is a half sister to listed stakes winner Jungle Gold (by Master Willie). His second dam Gold Sun (by Solazo) is a Group 1-winning sprinter in her native Argentina and is a full or half sister to three other stakes winners including 1971 Gran Premio Selección (Argentine Oaks, ARG-G1) winner Jungle Duchess (by Make Tracks).
Books and media
- Cigar: America's Horse was written by Jay Hovdey and was published by Eclipse Press in 1996. Eclipse Press released updated editions in 1999 and 2003. The book won a Gold Medal Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association.
- Thoroughbred Daily News created a video tribute to Cigar which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SE_T26sQk8.
Fun facts
- Like most of Paulson's horses, Cigar was named for an airplane checkpoint. The checkpoint that gave him his name is about 100 miles west of Tampa, Fla., in the Gulf of Mexico.
- Cigar's regular traveling companion during his racing days was a white stable pony named Snowball. Snowball, a registered Quarter Horse, retired from his racetrack duties in 1997 and lived to be 27.
- Cigar was the fourth of five Breeders' Cup Classic winners for Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. The others were Black Tie Affair (1991), Arcangues (1993), Concern (1994) and Saint Liam (2005).
- On November 2, 1996, Cigar was paraded to Madison Square Garden, where he bade farewell to racing before 16,000 fans at the 113th National Horse Show.
- Cigar's connections were honored with the "Big Sport of Turfdom" award in November 1996. The award is presented annually by the Turf Publicists of America to the individual or group judged to have done the most to enhance the coverage of Thoroughbred racing through cooperation with media and racing publicists.
- Cigar was the leading North American money-earning racehorse at the time of his retirement.
- Cigar's victory in the inaugural Dubai World Cup was ranked #40 in Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments, a review of racing in the 20th century compiled by The Blood-Horse and released in 2006.
- A life-sized bronze statue of Cigar graces the grounds of Gulfstream Park in Florida.
- The NTRA Mile was renamed the Cigar Mile in 1997. It is currently a Grade 1 race for ages 3 and up contested over a mile on dirt at Aqueduct.
- On April 2, 2015, the Kentucky Horse Park announced that it had commissioned artist Douwe Blumberg to create a bronze sculpture of Cigar. The project is underwritten by the Cigar Memorial Fund. The statue was unveiled on October 27, 2015, at the horse's grave on the Kentucky Horse Park's Walk of Champions.
Photo credit
Photograph taken by Jessica Morgan at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2011. Used by permission.
Last updated: September 29, 2023