Cigar Extinguished, But Living On in the SIM

Original article written by Alysse Peverell posted 9 years 3 weeks ago

As unconquerable, invincible and unbeatable as he looked on the track in his perfect 10-for-10 season of 1995, on a stormy October night, Cigar finally met a foe he was unable to defeat. On October 7, the mighty stallion was unable to recover from a spinal procedure and passed away at age 24. Although he proved infertile in real life, he was able to leave his mark on the SIM community through the miracle of computer technology. From a modest 48 foals, he sired four stakes winners with accomplishments on multiple surfaces as multiple distances. He had total progeny earnings of $12,056,400, three Steward’s Cup victories, and four Simmy Award wins.

Cigar’s most heralded offspring was the result of a mating with the most prolific mare in the game, Sahara Gold. The pair produced a bay colt named Lokite Magic who was purchased as a yearling by Isabella Penzance for $7.5 million at the Trial By Summer Sale. The colt’s career was away quickly, winning the Grade 2 Generous Stakes in his second start at two by an overwhelming eleven lengths. He finished the season undefeated with a win in the Grade 1 Los Campeones Juvenile (there was no Steward’s Cup race for juvenile turf runners at the time) and was named South American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. At three he stretched out to beat open company in the Chicago Million (G1), a rare feat, before successfully cutting back to a mile when capturing the Steward’s Cup Mile to remain undefeated. The only loss in his 14-race career came in a match race at the hands of Hall of Famer The Scarlet Nite. Despite the loss, he was named European Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year.

While Lokite Magic proved capable at distances beyond a mile, Duc de Berry was at his best when sticking to the eight-furlong distance. The colt ran as a homebred for Ara Davies, an avid Cigar supporter, who sent her outstanding broodmare Beam to the stallion in support. Though it took until he was three to break his maiden, Duc de Berry quickly made up for lost time when he jumped right into Grade 1 competition to take both the English and Irish Two Thousand Guineas. His accomplishments earned him a Simmy Award as European Champion Three-Year-Old Colt. At four he took the show on the road, racing in Dubai, South Africa, London, and the United States, capping off his world tour and career with a victory in the Steward’s Cup Mile.

Not only was Cigar able to produce stars on the turf, but he also found himself with an outstanding dirt runner as well. Although Advancing Star had already produced a stakes winner on turf and Cigar’s success on that surface, their daughter, Les Batons Magique, raced exclusively on dirt for owner Teri Lawrence. She was a Grade 1 winner at three and ran third in the Steward’s Cup Distaff that year. She started her four-year-old season with a stakes win, but lost her next three starts. Lawrence decided to take one last shot at the Distaff and it paid off, with Les Batons Magique winning to become her sire’s only Steward’s Cup winner on dirt.

Once he was pensioned, it was up to Cigar’s offspring to carry on his legacy. Lokite Magic and Duc de Berry were his only two sons to stand stud, and both had success in the breeding shed. Duc de Berry, like his sire, sired four stakes winners. While none matched his accomplishments, he did produce two earners of over $400,000. Lokite Magic was more successful as a stallion. His offspring include Deathdefying, a two-time South American Simmy Award winner whose only loss came on dirt, who in turn sired Steve, winner of the Two-Year-Old Turf Triple Crown. Crystal Magic was a five-time Grade 1 winner at a mile and once at 1 1/8 miles. In all he sired 18 stakes winners and, most notably, had winners on all three surfaces and steeplechasing. Three of Cigar’s sons went on to produce stakes winners in their breeding careers, with a total of 40 stakes winners sporting Cigar as their paternal grandsire.

As a broodmare sire, Les Batons Magique was far and away Cigar’s best daughter. The top five runners showing him as a broodmare sire all happen to be her five foals. Though she was a dirt runner herself, her progeny showed greater success on the turf. Only one of her foals was a stakes winner on dirt, never having tested the grass. The other four all won stakes on turf, including European Horse of the Year Le Dauphin Noir. Cigar’s daughter Ceremony was his only other daughter to produce stakes winners.

If you look around, there’s still Cigar to be seen on the track. Flaws in the Plan is a turf miler stallion who traces back to him through Crystal Magic. Le Dauphin Noir is probably the most prevalent representative of the Cigar line still in the game today. His son, The Wilding, produced Something Wild, one of the great geldings of our time. He also produced the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Mocking Bird. The Steward even has a mare who traces to Cigar through The Wilding in Cruciatus Curse. Her two-hear-old, It’s Blitz, recently became a stakes winner so his blood still lives on.

---

Back to Breeding articles