Cigar a Go, Concern Uncertain for July 2 Hollywood Gold Cup

Far more attention will be paid to Cigar’s return to California than his departure 18 months ago.

Owner of only a victory against maidens in this state, the 5-year-old son of Palace Music is now the nation’s top handicap horse and will at Hollywood Park here July 2 to run in the Hollywood Gold Cup.

The decision was made Wednesday by owner Allen Paulson and trainer Bill Mott. It is believed Paulson pushed for the Gold Cup, while Mott had said after Cigar’s easy victory in the Massachusetts Handicap on June 3 that the horse would be rested until the $350,000 Whitney Handicap on Aug. 5 at Saratoga.

“It’s altering our original plan somewhat, but our intention is to run,” Mott said Wednesday after Cigar worked five furlongs in 1:02 at Belmont Park.

“The horse is healthy and doing well. Right now, we plan to ship on June 30.”

If Cigar and Concern, who won the Californian on June 11 in his first race in California, both run in the Gold Cup, the purse will be increased from $750,000 to $1 million.

Owner Robert Meyerhoff and trainer Richard Small indicated after the Californian victory that Concern would return for the Gold Cup. But that was before Cigar’s change of plans, and now it does not seem a foregone conclusion that Concern will return to Hollywood Park.

In two previous meetings this year, Cigar, who has won eight in a row, had little trouble with Concern. In the Oaklawn Handicap in April, Cigar finished 6 1/2 lengths in front of Concern while carrying two fewer pounds (122-120).

Last month in the Pimlico Special, the margin was five lengths as Cigar carried one more pound than Concern (121-120).

The 1994 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, Concern has advantages of a recent victory over the track and the fact that Cigar hasn’t pointed toward the Gold Cup. If there was a time to turn the tables, this could be it for Meyerhoff’s home-bred.

“It’s as old as the hills, but the weights become an issue,” Small said Wednesday. “Weights in the Californian [where Concern carried 122] were provided by conditions of the race, but the Gold Cup, of course, is a handicap. It will cost us a hell of a lot to ship out there too. On the other hand, it is an enormous purse.”

Weights for the Gold Cup will be released Sunday by Hollywood Park racing secretary Martin Panza and the weights for the $350,000 Suburban Handicap, which will be run on July 4 at Belmont Park, will come out a week from today. The Suburban, which figures to have a weak field and would do nothing to enhance Concern’s reputation, is where he will run if he doesn’t run in the Gold Cup.

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Are you ready for the California Classic Crown?

There could be one if a proposal by the Thoroughbred Owners of California, submitted to track management at Hollywood Park, Santa Anita and Del Mar, becomes reality.

The TOC plan would tie the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup and Del Mar’s Pacific Classic together, each offering a $1-million purse. Through corporate sponsorship, there is hope of establishing a $3-million bonus to a horse sweeping all three races.

Horse Racing Notes

Slew Of Damascus, who won the 1994 Hollywood Gold Cup, will make his first start since finishing second in the San Antonio Handicap on Feb. 12 in the $70,000 Bedside Promise Handicap on Friday night. The 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint drew nine others, including recent Jack Disney winner Cyrano De Storme.