NO VICTORY CIGAR : DARE AND GO ENDS CHAMP'S STREAK AT 16.Byline: Kevin Modesti Daily News Staff WriterThe world's greatest horse lost like a man. Cigar never backed down during his record-tying 16-win streak, not from a muddy track in the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. , not from a long trip to mysterious Dubai, not from 130-pound assignments and not from a bad post position in last month's race at Arlington International. And he wasn't going to back down Saturday when 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. threw him the latest challenge - the fastest pace Cigar had ever faced. Trainer Bill Mott and Jerry Bailey made up their minds in a strategy session before the $1 million Pacific Classic. Siphon, 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. winner, was the front-running threat and Cigar must not be afraid to play his game. ``Right now it looks like an error in judgment,'' Mott said after a 39-1 shocker shock·er n. One that startles, shocks, or horrifies, as a sensational story or novel. Noun 1. shocker - a shockingly bad person bad person - a person who does harm to others 2. by Dare and Go took the shine off Cigar and the air out of a Del Mar-record crowd of 44,181. ``It might have been a mistake.'' In the end, Cigar was a victim of his own astonishing a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. record of overcoming obstacles on the way to matching Citation's 46-year-old standard for consecutive victories by a U.S.-based thoroughbred. Mott, Bailey and probably Cigar, too, thought he could do it one more time. He couldn't. Cigar raced on the pacesetter's right flank - while pressed himself from the outside by Dramatic Gold - and fought his way to the lead as they turned for home in the 1-1/4-mile race. But he led only briefly. As the pace, 1:09 1/5 for 6 furlongs and 1:33 3/5 for a mile, took its toll on the overwhelming, 1-10 favorite, Dare and Go and jockey Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964 in Panama City, Panama) is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief. angled off the rail in fourth and rocketed into the picture on the outside. Once before, in the Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in March, Cigar had faced such a challenge. He fought back that day and scored his most dramatic victory. ``I guess if this had happened in Dubai, I wouldn't have given it a second thought,'' Bailey said after the Pacific Classic. ``But things were going so smoothly (in the horse's training) I just naturally assumed he'd give me another outstanding effort. Maybe I asked too much of him early in the race. . . . ``I decided if I had to go a little faster - probably a matter of three or four fifths of a second - I would do it to avoid having to pull back and then have to go around a leader who might have stolen away. ``All you've had to do was give Cigar a chance to win, and 16 times in a row he'd won it.'' This time, Cigar had nothing left for the final quarter-mile, run in a mediocre :26 1/5 to complete a 1:59 4/5 race. Dare and Go shot past him in mid-stretch, with Solis whipping and driving as if a $600,000 winner's purse and a spot in history depended on it, and went on to win by 3-1/2 lengths, with Solis punching the air in triumph. ``It's one of the biggest feelings I've had in my life,'' Solis said. Cigar finished second, seven lengths in front of Siphon, who was eight lengths in front of Dramatic Gold, who put 26 lengths on Luthier lu·thi·er n. One that makes or repairs stringed instruments, such as violins. [French, from luth, lute, from Old French lut; see lute1.] Noun 1. Fever. Tinners Way, the 1994 and '95 Pacific Classic winner, was pulled to a halt near the top of the stretch and was vanned off the track with a left-front-ankle injury that wasn't considered life-threatening. Cigar collected $200,000 to push his earnings to $9,019,815 for breeder-owner Allen Paulson. Dare and Go paid $81.20 for a $2 win bet, a Pacific Classic record. You always thought, the week Cigar lost a race would be the week they discovered life on Mars Scientists have long speculated about the possibility of life on Mars owing to the planet's proximity and similarity to Earth. It remains an open question whether life exists on Mars now, or existed there in the past. . Dare and Go had been one of the last horses entered in the Pacific Classic. At one time trainer Richard Mandella Richard Mandella (born November 5, 1950 in Beaumont, California) is a Thoroughbred horse trainer and a member of the Racing Hall of Fame. Mandella's father, a blacksmith, introduced him to horses at an early age and while still in high school he began breaking and training was pointing him, Siphon and Soul of the Matter for the race. But Soul of the Matter suffered a career-ending tendon injury in a Wednesday-morning workout. When that horse missed the Hollywood Gold Cup in June because of a foot injury, Mandella sent out Siphon to win at 9-1 odds while Dare and Go ran fifth. Saturday, Mandella did it again, winning with the wrong horse. Dare and Go hadn't won anything big since the 1995 Strub Stakes The Strub Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California each year. Currently a Grade II stakes race with a purse of $300,000, it is open to horses, age four, willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt and offers. at Santa Anita. He missed the Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in the late winter at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses three years old and up, and is considered the most important race for older horses in North America during and the Dubai World Cup this year with ankle injuries. Until now, Solis said, Dare and Go had never relaxed enough to save his best for the stretch. His Pacific Classic victory gave the 5-year-old son of Alydar earnings of $1,547,536 for brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer of La Presle Farm, the French-based owners of 1993 Horse of the Year Kotashaan. ``Realistically, I thought Siphon had the best chance of everybody to beat Cigar,'' Mandella said. ``Dare and Go I thought would have a legitimate chance to get a piece of it. But to be honest, I didn't think Cigar would get beat.'' Neither did the fans, who wagered more than $2 million on Cigar to win on a warm, humid afternoon that felt like Kentucky Derby Day in shorts and sandals. Bailey got the first clue this wasn't Cigar's day. ``He was working very, very hard before the three-eighths pole. He wasn't pulling me out of the saddle like the last time,'' the jockey said. But there was no backing off, not with Dramatic Gold bearing down in third. ``I think Siphon and our horse were pushed along by Dare and Go and they both went too darned darned adj. Damned. Adj. 1. darned - expletives used informally as intensifiers; "he's a blasted idiot"; "it's a blamed shame"; "a blame cold winter"; "not a blessed dime"; "I'll be damned (or blessed or darned or fast,'' Mott said in the only hint of his frustration. Mott declined to offer an excuse. Or to shrink from future challenges. ``The streak is over. But there's other races to be won,'' he said, meaning, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , the Sept. 14 Woodward and Oct. 5 Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers at Cigar's Belmont Park base and an Oct. 26 defense of the Breeders' Cup Classic in Toronto. ``Hopefully, he'll still be a drawing card wherever he goes. ``I don't think any less of Cigar or Jerry Bailey. I wouldn't back down from saying he's one of the all-time greats.'' CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1--color) As they near the finish line in the Pac ific Classic at Del Mar, Dare and Go, right, pulls away from Cigar, who was trying to break Citation's record of 16 straight wins. (2--color) Alex Solis celebrates as he crosses the finish line aboard Dare and Go. (3) Dare and Go, left, begins to move on leader Cigar on the final turn of the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Associated Press |
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