Bailey Recalls Incomparable Ride of a Lifetime with Cigar

Photo by HorsePhotos
Retired Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey, who formed a nearly unbeatable combination with Cigar, shares his memories of a horse of a lifetime with Tom Pedulla of America’s Best Racing:
I paid a final visit to Cigar last Sunday at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky. He stood in his stall and eagerly accepted the carrots I fed him. His flesh looked great, but I could tell he was finally meeting an opponent he could not run into the ground. At age 24, time was getting the best of him. I could sense his mortality – and perhaps he could, too.
It was never that way when Cigar rattled off 16 consecutive victories, including a perfect 10-for-10 campaign in 1995, and swept consecutive Horse of the Year titles in 1995 and 1996. His trainer, Bill Mott, would give me a leg up and I could tell that Cigar was as focused as he could be. I could feel his chest puff out. He was the best horse in the land, the best in the world, and he was about to prove it.
That being said, I had my concerns before the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Among other reasons, Cigar was encountering a muddy track for the first time, he had drawn far outside in post 10, and he would need to travel a mile and a quarter, a distance that was not his best as he made the 10th start of a grueling year.
Two concerns were immediately eliminated. He handled the mud just fine as he warmed up and he immediately overcame the disadvantage of the outside post by giving me the early spurt I sought. We settled into third, a perfect tracking position. Cigar, almost sensing the magnitude of the race, tugged hard, fighting my restraint so furiously that my fingers went numb.
Track announcer Tom Durkin could see this mighty tug of war as it unfolded through the opening six furlongs. “Cigar wants to go,” Durkin fairly shouted, “but Jerry Bailey says, ‘No, not yet.’ “
When we reached the far turn, I yielded to Cigar’s will only because I could resist him no longer. For the first few strides after I eased up on the reins, I had no sensation in my hands. The power beneath me was unlike anything I had felt before as Durkin cried, “Three furlongs to go. Cigar! Cigar makes his move and he sweeps to the lead with a dramatic rush as Jerry Bailey turns him loose.”
We made the lead by the quarter pole. Durkin completed one of most famous race calls in history by putting the exclamation point on a storybook season: “And here he is,” Durkin proclaimed as we neared the wire, “the unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar!”
As much as there was fire in Cigar’s eyes the day of the 1995 Classic, he was a very different horse when I visited him the next day with my son, Justin, then three years old. It was almost as if he sensed the fragility of a child that age, and he was as gentle as could be as we rewarded him for a dream season with peppermints and carrots.
Our great achievement in 1996 occurred when we competed in the inaugural Dubai World Cup. It was a challenge that owner Allen Paulson relished, but one that concerned the rest of us. Bill had to prepare Cigar to withstand a journey no horse had made before. I felt as though I was facing the pressure of Olympic-style competition as I took to the track in Paulson’s red, white and blue silks to face the best competition the world could offer.
As it was, we wound up in a torrid stretch duel with a familiar foe, jockey Gary Stevens and Soul of the Matter, trained by Richard Mandella. Cigar had always responded to left-handed urging. When I switched the whip to that side, Cigar unleashed a furious run, good for a victory by half a length.
Those are the moments that will make me forever grateful for the privilege of being associated with Cigar. When I am asked if I ever rode a horse comparable to Cigar, I do not have to think twice.
Not even close.