by Richard Hackerman
February 11, 1995
Cigar took the Grade 1 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park under jockey Jerry Bailey. It was win number 4 of his record-setting 16 consecutive wins and the second win of what would be a 10-for-10 season. He retired with just under $10 million in earnings — a record that stood until Curlin surpassed it in 2008 — including wins in the inaugural Dubai World Cup and and the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the latter a victory which secured an unbeaten season and prompted Tom Durkin to call him “the incomparable, invincible, unbeatable Cigar.” Cigar was bred at Country Life Farm in Bel Air, Maryland. He is one of only two Maryland-breds ever to be named Horse of the Year, which he won in 1995 and 1996.
