The Breeders’ Cup Championships are less than two weeks away. So, it seems a good time to look back on some great Breeders’ Cup performances.

First up CIGAR.

The transformation of CIGAR from a horse that showed modest turf ability to one that developed into a legend on dirt illustrates how critical a trainer’s role can be.

The son of PALICE MUSIC went unraced at 2 before Winning two of nine starts the following season for his first trainer, Alex Hassinger Jr.

CIGAR finished his 3-year-old campaign with earnings of $89,175 but was unable to Win in Stakes competition.

At that point, owner and breeder Allen Paulson made the decision that changed everything.

He shipped CIGAR from the West Coast to the East, so he could be overseen by the legendary Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

After a pair of 3rd-place finishes on turf, Mott shifted CIGAR to dirt. The result was an eight-length romp in a one mile Allowance race at Aqueduct on October 28th, 1994.

The match had been struck and CIGAR burned brightly for the remainder of his career.

The lopsided Victory triggered a 16-race Winning streak that allowed CIGAR to succeed at various distances and match CITATION for the longest such streak by a major American horse. 

CITATION swept his 16 in a row from 1948-50.

Most fans would say that the signature triumph for CIGAR occurred in the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic (the Daily Racing Blog was fortunate enough to be on hand for that race) at Belmont Park.

In the slop at Belmont that day with Jerry Baily up, CIGAR roared home in a Stakes record time of 1:59.58.

Tom Durkin was the track announcer and his call as CIGAR powered toward the wire is fondly recalled:  “And here he is, the unconquerable, invincible, unbeatable CIGAR ! “

The Classic capped an unforgettable 10-for-10 campaign that earned $4,819,800 dollars and led him to be honored as Horse of the Year and Champion older male.

CIGAR overcame an inauspicious start to his career to Win 19 times in 33 races and finish with earnings of $9,999,813 dollars.

He was named one of the top 20 horses of the 20th century by Blood-Horse magazine.