ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996 TAG: 9607150154
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, ILL.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Cigar is now neck and neck with the great Citation in the race for thoroughbred immortality.
Cigar matched Citation's modern North American record of 16 consecutive victories, pulling away to win the $1.05 million Arlington Citation Challenge by 3 1/2 lengths Saturday.
The victory was worth $750,000, bringing the 6-year-old champion's career earnings to $8,819,815 - another North American record.
Cigar's next scheduled race is the Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Calif., on Aug.10, when he will try to surpass the mark Citation set from 1948-50. Cigar last lost Oct.7, 1994.
Racing from the outside post in the 11/8-mile, 10-horse race, Cigar stayed back in the pack down the backstretch. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, he made a strong move at the top of the turn, caught Dramatic Gold, a 23-1 long shot, coming into the stretch and pulled away for the victory in 1:48 1/5.
The 1-5 favorite, Cigar paid $2.60 to win. There was no place or show betting.
Dramatic Gold held off Eltish to finish second. Unbridled's Song, the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite who was supposed to be Cigar's main challenger, never challenged and finished ninth.
Owned by Allen Paulson and trained by Bill Mott, Cigar carried 130 pounds, 8 to 14 more than any other horse in the field.
``He worked through the stretch, fought off a nice horse,'' Bailey said. ``Conceding that much weight, it was a spectacular effort.''
The race was put together quickly by Richard Duchossois, Arlington International Racecourse's chairman, after Cigar was withdrawn from June's Hollywood Gold Cup because of a bruised right foot.
Track officials estimated they lost about $1 million staging the race, but expect it to pay off in the long run because of new fans and publicity attracted by Cigar.
Cigar's popularity grew throughout 1995 as he won all 10 of his starts, including the Breeder's Cup Classic and seven other Grade I stakes.
Saturday's victory actually was Cigar's 17th in a row on the dirt. After Cigar's dirt victory May 9, 1993, Paulson and Mott put him in 11 consecutive turf races; Cigar won only once. At Aqueduct on Oct.28, 1994, Cigar returned to the dirt and that's when his record streak began.
Since then, he has won at nine tracks in two hemispheres to catch Citation for the most consecutive victories this century by a North American-based horse.
In 1990, Mister Frisky tied the record, but 13 of his victories were against weak competition in Puerto Rico.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Cigar, with Jerry Bailey aboard, beats Dramatic Goldby CNBin the Arlington Citation Challenge on Saturday. Cigar tied
Citation's modern North American record with 16 consecutive wins. KEYWORDS: HORSE RACCING