CIGAR HAS A HISTORIC AROMA.Byline: Daily News Staff and Wire Services Cigar is more than a horse. He's a superstar athlete, a celebrity, a hero. He's Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. in Air Horseshoes, the Beatles with one mane instead of four moptops. As the most visible ``personality'' in an industry that for years has been losing fans to mainstream sports and other forms of gambling, Cigar faces more pressure than any sports figure of recent times. In today's $1.05 million Arlington Citation Challenge, at Arlington International outside Chicago, he will try to win his 16th straight race and match Citation's post-1900 record for consecutive victories by a U.S.-based thoroughbred. If he wins and comes out of the race healthy, he would be pointed for the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
``The pressure doesn't bother him as much as me,'' trainer Bill Mott said Friday after the horse arrived at Arlington. ``I'm nervous right now. Terribly. There are people wearing caps and T-shirts and carrying banners. I don't want to let the fans down. ``Cigar? He doesn't get rattled. He's very professional. If he was another horse, you might worry. But not him.'' Six-year-old Cigar's main rival in the 1-1/8-mile race, Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. favorite Unbridled's Song, will carry 118 pounds. The other top contender, Metropolitan Mile winner Honour and Glory, will carry 116. Unlike those 3-year-olds, Cigar will carry 130 pounds - and the weight of the thoroughbred industry. The lineup: Honour and Glory, John Velazquez; Eltish, Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21 1951) was an American thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and in ten short years became the top American jockey with 384 wins. , 118 pounds; Dr. Banting, Garrett Gomez, 118; Dramatic Gold, Corey Nakatani, 118; Tenants Harbor, Robbie Albarado, 122; Polar Expedition, Mark Guidry, 122; Jamblaya Jazz, Aaron Gryder, 120; Wild Syn, Cyril Goodwin, 118; Unbridled's Song, Mike Smith, and Cigar. Channel 2 coverage starts at 2:30 p.m. The race is at 2:45 p.m. and will be simulcast to Hollywood Park. Wagering here will be commingled with Arlington's, and only win, exacta ex·act·a n. A method of betting, as on a horserace, in which the bettor must correctly pick those finishing in the first and second places in precisely that sequence. Also called perfecta. and trifecta tri·fec·ta n. A system of betting in which the bettor must pick the first three winners in the correct sequence. Also called triple. [tri- + (per)fecta.] betting will be offered. Hollywood Park will offer strong weekend stakes of its own: Trainer Ron McAnally, who has won almost every stakes race on the Hollywood Park schedule, takes two shots at his first Hollywood Oaks today. Antespend, owned by Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (25 October, 1912 – 6 April, 1997) was a Canadian-American entrepreneur who became one of the most widely-known executives in North American professional sports. (who also owns the Daily News), will be a heavy favorite in the $175,000 race for 3-year-old fillies. Listening, owned by Janis Whitham, is most handicappers' second choice in the field of seven going 1-1/8 miles. Dare and Go, fifth behind stablemate Noun 1. stablemate - a horse stabled with another or one of several horses owned by the same person stable companion Equus caballus, horse - solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times Siphon siphon (sī`fən, –fŏn), tube through which a liquid is lifted over an elevation by the pressure of the atmosphere and is then emptied at a lower level. in the Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions. , should be fitter for the $100,000 Bel Air Handicap on Sunday. The 1995 Strub Stakes winner hadn't raced in nearly four months before the Gold Cup. CIGAR'S WINNING STREAK 1994 Oct. 28-Allowance race, 1 mile, Aqueduct Nov. 26-NYRA Mile (Grade I Stakes), 1 mile, Aqueduct 1995 Jan. 22-Allowance race, 1 1-16 mile, Gulfstream Park Feb. 11-Donn Handicap (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/8 mile, Gulfstream Park March 5-Gulfstream Park Handicap (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/4 mile April 15-Oaklawn Handicap (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/8 mile, Oaklawn Park May 13-Pimlico Special (Grade I Stakes), 1 3-16 mile June 3-Massachusetts Handicap, 1-1/8 mile, Suffolk Downs July 2-Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/4 mile, Hollywood Park Sept. 16-Woodward Stakes (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/8 mile, Belmont Oct. 7-Jockey Club Gold Cup (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/4 mile, Belmont Oct. 28-Breeders' Cup Classic (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/4 mile, Belmont 1996 Feb. 10-Donn Handicap (Grade I Stakes), 1-1/8 mile, Gulfstream Park March 27-Dubai World Cup, 1-1/4 mile, Nad Al Sheba racecourse Nad Al Sheba Racecourse is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates opened in 1986. It has a 2,200 meter left handed dirt race track and a left handed turf course of the same distance. June 1-Massachusetts Handicap, 1-1/8 mile, Suffolk Downs July 13-Arlington Citation Challenge, 1-1/8 mile, Arlington International Racecourse. Note-Jerry Bailey was the rider for all but the first race in the streak, for which Mike Smith was the rider. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box Photo: (no caption) Cigar Daily News File Photo Box: C IGAR'S WINNING STREAK (see text) |
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