Perfection Takes One Race : Cigar Is Unbeaten on Dirt--After Finishing Seventh at Age 2

Cigar has lost on dirt. Once. A long time ago.

On Feb. 21, 1993, Cigar made his first start and finished seventh in a nine-horse maiden race for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita. Since then, he’s 17 for 17 on dirt.

Cigar made his next start on May 9, this time in a maiden race at Hollywood Park, and won by 2 1/4 lengths. Because of his grass bloodlines, Cigar was then sent to the turf and didn’t run again on dirt in California until he won last year’s Hollywood Gold Cup.

Going into Saturday’s Pacific Classic, Cigar has a record of one win in 11 starts on grass and 17 wins in 18 starts on dirt. His earnings, a record for North America, are $8.8 million.

Regarding Cigar’s only loss on dirt, most of the horsemen involved have little if any recollection of it. “It was an insignificant race,” said jockey Kent Desormeaux, who rode another horse in the field.

Cigar went off at 5-1, the third betting choice in the six-furlong race, and was never in contention under jockey Pat Valenzuela, losing by 13 lengths.

The race was won by the Richard Mandella-trained Demigod, another first-time starter, and also finishing ahead of Cigar, in order, were Cardiac, Sir Hutch, Adventure Road, Classic Win and Eldorado Pete. Sir Hutch became a stakes winner, taking the Potrero Grande at Santa Anita in 1994. His trainer, Bob Baffert, who won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 1992 with Thirty Slews, rates Sir Hutch as the second-best sprinter he’s ever had. But Sir Hutch was an unsound horse, known as “Sir Crutch.”

Months after Demigod became the only horse to win a dirt race that Cigar lost, the horse’s owner and Mandella had a falling out. Demigod was switched to Lewis Cenicola’s barn, but because of injuries he never ran again.