Cigar Street to Rejoin Stakes Company in Homecoming

Jake Ballis and Rashard Lewis’ graded stakes winner Cigar Street is expected to ship to Churchill Downs on Thursday for a start in Saturday’s $125,000-added Homecoming Classic for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott

 

Cigar Street’s second-place finish in an allowance event at Saratoga on Aug. 22 was his first start in 17 months. Sent off as the odds-on favorite, Cigar Street got out to an early lead on the muddy track, posting modest fractions of :24.83, :49.57 and 1:13.60. The 5-year-old son of Street Sense held onto the lead until the final stages, but was then caught by Pick of the Litter, who crossed the wire a half-length in front.

 

“There really wasn’t a plan for him in Saratoga since he had been off for 17 months,” Ballis said. “No one knew if he was going to like the mud either, but he’s always either been on the lead or lay pretty close.

 

“Before the race, Johnny Velasquez just said he was going to let him break and get in a comfortable spot. He said he wasn’t going to beat him up down the lane or anything; he just wanted to get him around and see how he would do after 17 months. He ran as well or better than I expected him to run though.”

 

Ballis said he would let the horse and rider dictate their own running style on Saturday, but expects them to be close.

 

“I think it will be similar on Saturday,” Ballis said. “We can go to the lead or lay off. He’s won going gate-to-wire at Gulfstream and Fair Grounds, and then his other two wins he sat off, so he’s versatile. I think it will be a good stepping stone for him. I think it’s good to have him back in stakes-company even though it’s not graded. We’ll see how he does and how he comes out of it and then we’ll get a plan together for him for the rest of the year and early next year.”

 

Ballis said he would wait and see how the Homecoming Classic goes before making a decision on his colt’s next start, but that the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic (Grade I) was not out of the question. He also mentioned that the 1 ¼-mile distance of the Breeders’ Cup Classic would be ideal for Cigar Street.

 

“He can run all day long,” Ballis said. “I think a mile-and-a-quarter is an ideal distance for him; he has a high-cruising speed. If he wins impressively I don’t think the Breeders’ Cup Classic is out of the question. We’ll see how it goes.”

 

In addition to Cigar Street, who’ll be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan, others entered in the Homecoming Classic are Call Me George (Leandro Goncalves), Carve (Jesus Castanon), Departing (Robby Albarado), Perfect Title (Brian Hernandez Jr.) and Pick of the Litter (Julien Leparoux).

 

Source: Churchill Downs Communications