Listening to Denman do the call, it sounded more like Cigar was already midway through the long winning streak than the maiden he was. Actually gave me chills.
Take away the turf, and Cigar won 18 of 22 starts, with two 2nds and one 3rd (the close 3rd in the '96 BC Classic). His lone out-of-the-money finish on dirt was his first race.
I drove 200 miles to NY to see he next-to-last race. A good racing-fan start for my 3-yr-old son, too: getting to see Skip Away and Cigar battle it out in the stretch.
--Dunbar
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Curlin and Hard Spun finish 1,2 in the 2007 BC Classic, demonstrating how competing in all three Triple Crown races ruins a horse for the rest of the year...see avatar
photo from REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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