Flashback: Cigar redefines himself in the 1994 NYRA Mile

With the benefit of hindsight, we can look back on the career of two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and recognize the precise moment he transitioned from an ordinary racehorse into a nearly unbeatable Hall of Fame inductee.

The year was 1994. After achieving limited success on grass, the 4-year-old Maryland-bred son of Palace Music seemed destined for mediocrity. But then trainer Bill Mott made the fateful decision to try Cigar on dirt, and the result was an eight-length allowance victory on Oct. 28 at Aqueduct.

With this blowout triumph, Cigar took the first step along a historic and much-publicized 16-race win streak that included 10 Grade 1 wins and a gutsy triumph in the inaugural Dubai World Cup. But no one knew it at the time.

Indeed, no one had any notion of the unprecedented globe-trotting success Cigar was about to achieve. When the colt lined up against 11 rivals in the Nov. 26 NYRA Mile Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct, he was just an ordinary horse stepping up in class against a deep and competitive field.

Truthfully, no one expected Cigar to win. Bettors disregarded him as the 8.90-1 sixth choice behind favored Devil His Due, a five-time Grade 1 winner exiting the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Bill Mott didn’t even attend the race, instead traveling to Japan to saddle stable star Paradise Creek in the rich Japan Cup. Jockey Mike Smith, who guided Cigar to his powerful allowance triumph, jumped ship to ride Devil His Due, leaving Jerry Bailey to accept the mount.

Even assistant trainer Simon Bray admitted the stable wasn’t overly confident in Cigar’s chances. “It’s his second start back on the dirt,” he told writer Mike Farrell in the Hackensack, New Jersey The Record of Nov. 27, 1994. “We were hoping, more than confident.”

In the span of 1:36.10 seconds, Cigar delivered on those hopes.

Carrying a feathery 111 pounds, Cigar didn’t get off to the best of starts, but he quickly recovered to settle in fourth place during the run down the backstretch. Galloping along easily without any special urging from Bailey, Cigar stayed within striking distance of testing :22.75 and :45.98 fractions posted by reigning champion older male Bertrando, who was involved in a three-way battle with longshots Swamp King and Storm Tower.

The pace proved destructive, and the early leaders faded badly down the lane, but Cigar was completely unaffected. Around the turn he casually unleashed a four-wide rally to stroll past the pacesetters, effortlessly seizing command while giving the impression he hadn’t switched out of second gear.

At the top of the stretch Cigar was clear by two lengths over Devil His Due, who was vainly endeavoring to follow in Cigar’s wake. But there was never any chance of the favorite catching up. That possibility had evaporated on the far turn, along with any lingering views of Cigar as a turf horse. The final furlong was a one-horse parade as Cigar cruised to the finish line seven lengths in front.

“He really smoked them,” Bailey said in the New York Daily News of November 27, 1994. “I rode him before, but that was on the grass and he was flat that day. On the dirt he’s been different.”

“Different” was putting it mildly. By the time Cigar hung up his racing shoes, the formerly struggling turf horse was a two-time Horse of the Year and a universally applauded superstar. Few horses before or since have embarked on a campaign of sustained brilliance and dominance equal to Cigar, who won 15 of his 18 starts following the NYRA Mile.

In 1997, the year after Cigar retired, the New York Racing Association paid tribute to the champion by renaming the NYRA Mile in his honor. In the years since, the Cigar Mile has been won by many high-class horses — Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, champion sprinter Kodiak Kowboy, champion older male Left Bank, and six-time graded stakes winner Flat Out, to name a few.

But none have ever compared to the incomparable Cigar.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.