William I. Mott - Cigar

Cigar

Cigar was owned by Allen E. Paulson and did not race as a two-year old. Under trainer Alex Hassinger, he made an unsuccessful debut in early 1993 in a six furlong (1,207 m) race on a dirt track in California. After he broke his maiden a few months later, his trainer switched him to racing on grass, but the horse proved mediocre at best. The following year, his owner shipped Cigar to East Coast trainer Bill Mott, who gave him the first half of the year off, bringing him back to racing in July. After more disappointing results, it was decided to give Cigar one more try racing on dirt. In his first attempt, at Aqueduct Racetrack, he won easily.

For the following year's racing season, Cigar proved to be the best horse in North America, winning all ten major races he entered under jockey Jerry Bailey, including the Pimlico Special. Cigar capped off the year with an October victory in the $3 million U.S. Breeders' Cup Classic while setting a stakes record of 1:59.58 for the 1+1⁄₄ miles (2,000 m) distance. That year, Cigar was voted 1995 Champion Older Male and received the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

In 1996, the team of Cigar, Paulson, Mott, and Bailey won the Big Sport of Turfdom Award.

Cigar continued his winning ways that year, including traveling more than 6,000 miles (9,700 km) to earn a victory in the inaugural Dubai World Cup in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with a purse of $5 million. During the season, Cigar matched the decades-old accomplishment of Triple Crown champion Citation by winning his 16th race in a row in the Arlington Citation Challenge. Cigar failed in his bid to break the record when he lost to Dare and Go in the Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar Racetrack.

The 1996 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park was Cigar's last victory.

On June 5, 2010, Mott won his first U.S. Triple Crown race when Drosselmeyer won the Belmont Stakes.