Cigar Proves a Flop at Stud

Should Cigar, the 1995-96 Horse of the Year, fail at stud, it’s unlikely he would race again.

“I doubt it,” said Allen Paulson, who raced the 7-year-old Cigar and expects to buy him back should he prove to be sterile. “I think I’ll take him back to my farm and take care of him.”

Paulson said he understood that he had first right to buy Cigar back should he not succeed at breeding.

“I’m still shocked he hasn’t been able to get any mares in foal,” Paulson said Friday.

Barry Simon, farm manager for Ashford Stud at Versailles, Ky., where Cigar is standing, said 16 of 36 mares bred to Cigar had been tested and none was in foal. He said that figure was expected to increase as more ultrasound tests are performed.