With regards to the "wasted 16 months", you're ignoring a few issues.
Cigar was of questionable soundness, at least early in his career. He didn't debut until Feb of his 3yo, ran poorly, and immediately went back to the sidelines, returning 3 months later for his maiden win.
Logistically, the switch to turf made sense for a couple of reasons. First, the pedigree. Palace Music was a Group 1 winner on turf. I presume the second dam, Argentinian Gold Sun, a multiple Group 1 winner, won her fair share of turf races, too.
In addition, most of the summer racing for 3yos in CA is turf-oriented. Note that turf rivals like Tossofthecoin, Nonproductiveasset, and Zignew, were also ultimately more accomplished on the dirt. There just aren't any main track goals in CA passed July for straight 3yos. I suppose Cigar could have been rushed into the Swaps, the last major stakes on dirt in CA for straight 3yos, but would he have held together? The move to turf allowed him to slowly progress through his allowance conditions rather than right into stakes company while possibly being "kinder" to him physically.
Also, I wouldn't say Cigar detested turf. Cigar handled the turf perfectly well, at least in CA. His one dull effort was the Hollywood Derby, which led to an 8 month layoff and a switch to Bill Mott on the East Coast.
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