Nine Challengers Will Seek to Snuff Cigar’s Win Streak

Why would nine horses line up Saturday to tangle with Cigar as he tries to equal Citation’s 46-year-old record of 16 consecutive victories?

In winning 15 in a row, Cigar has raced more than eight rivals only four times, yet when entries were taken Thursday for Saturday’s Arlington Citation Challenge, trainers from all over the country had dropped the names of their horses into the box.

Four of Cigar’s opponents are coming from Kentucky, two from California, one each from New York and Maryland, and there’s even a hometown horse--Polar Expedition--who is stabled at Arlington International, the suburban Chicago track whose innovative owner, Dick Duchossois, is putting up the $1.05 million for the race.

Some of the trainers freely acknowledged they are here only to run for second money--which is a not-so-shabby $150,000. And Tom Arnemann, who trains Wild Syn, a colt who has lost all nine of his races--by 194 lengths--since he won the Blue Grass Stakes in April 1995, said that he’s running mainly to become a historical footnote.

But even Bill Mott, Cigar’s trainer, had not expected such a turnout and in particular was taken aback when Unbridled’s Song entered.

“I think he’s one of the most talented horses in training,” Mott said. “He’s had a lot of hurdles to overcome. All along, I felt that Cigar would have to contend with him, but I’m surprised that we’re going to meet him this early in the year.”

Unbridled’s Song, winner of the Florida Derby and the Wood Memorial, but then a flop because of physical problems as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, joins Honour And Glory as the only 3-year-olds in the 10-horse field. Because of their age, the younger horses get the biggest break in the weights. Unbridled’s Song will carry 118 pounds and Honour And Glory’s assignment is 116. Cigar will carry 130 pounds for only the second time.

“Besides the second money, I think it’s the weights that have brought all these horses out,” said Bill Thayer, an Arlington vice president who saw Citation run. “This is the last shot they’ll have at Cigar where he’s spotting anybody much weight. From here on out, it’s pretty much equal weights, with all his races being run under weight-for-age conditions.”

Should Cigar win Saturday, he is expected to get his chance to break Citation’s modern record for a North American horse in the $1-million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 10. In that race, Cigar would carry 124 pounds, the same as other older horses, and would spot 3-year-olds only seven pounds.

Unbridled’s Song hasn’t won 15 in a row or earned $8 million, but he and Cigar have much in common--they are horses that have had problem feet and ulcers.

Cigar’s ulcer was successfully treated before he started the winning streak, but his hoof injuries knocked him out of two California races this year, the Santa Anita Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup. In between, he traveled to the Middle East and won the Dubai World Cup, and in his last start, on June 1, he beat up on some third-rate horses in the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs.

“This is different than Dubai, when we were running out of time to get him ready,” Mott said. “We patched the hoof two weeks after the Massachusetts Handicap, and we’ve had the time to space out his work schedule. He’s worked four times with the patch and handled it very well. His foot is normal and there’s no heat in it.”

Cigar worked half a mile in :48 Wednesday at his home track, Belmont Park, and is scheduled to arrive here by plane this afternoon. Mott has been successful with these late-arriving tactics and isn’t about to deviate from the regimen now.

Unbridled’s Song, whose workout time Tuesday at Belmont was :48 1/5, will be on the same plane. His trainer, Jim Ryerson, appears to be an unwilling participant but, as usual, Ernie Paragallo, who owns the colt and calls the shots, has prevailed. In Unbridled Song’s only start since the Derby, he was upset at 3-10 odds by Jamies First Punch in the Peter Pan on May 26.

Asked Thursday if this was a good spot for Unbridled’s Song to launch his comeback, Ryerson said: “That’s debatable, but the opportunities to run for this kind of money are limited. It was time for him to run again, but we could have picked an easier spot. Ernie wants to take a shot.”

Saturday’s winner will receive $750,000, which includes a $300,000 bonus. The next four finishers, in order, will earn $150,000, $82,500, $45,000 and $22,500. In an unusual morning line, the Arlington handicapper has made seven horses all 30-1. The exceptions are Cigar, 1-5; Unbridled’s Song, 5-1, and Honour And Glory, 8-1. In the post-position draw for the 1 1/8 miles, Unbridled’s Song and Cigar drew the outside stalls, but neither Ryerson nor Mott seemed concerned. Here is the way they will line up, with jockeys and weights:

Honour And Glory, John Velazquez, 116 pounds; Eltish, Eddie Delahoussaye, 118; Dr. Banting, Garrett Gomez, 118; Dramatic Gold, Corey Nakatani, 118; Tenants Harbor, Robbie Albarado, 122; Polar Expedition, Mark Guidry, 122; Jambalaya Jazz, Aaron Gryder, 120; Wild Syn, Cyril Goodwin, 118; Unbridled’s Song, Mike Smith, 118; and Cigar, Jerry Bailey, 130.

There will be no place or show betting.

“If we allowed that, we’d get killed,” Duchossois said. “There’d be guys betting on Cigar at $100,000 a pop to place in Las Vegas, and there wouldn’t be enough money in the pools to pay them off.”

Horse Racing Notes

Race-day temperatures are expected to be in the high 70s. Scattered thunderstorms are in the forecast for today and Saturday. . . . A crowd of 40,000 is possible. Arlington has reached that figure only a couple of times since the track was rebuilt after a fire in 1985.