All photos by L.A. Williams

The Jockey Club Gold Cup of 1998 is a few weeks away, and with it will come a renewal of Skip Away versus Cigar. The two horses met only once on the track in the 1996 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Cigar was a national hero. Skip Away was a rising star. On that day a torch was passed that in two years will have come full circle.

In 1995 and 1996, Jerry Bailey was aboard Cigar in every start. He was there through the extreme highs when Cigar won 16 races in a row. He was there through the extreme lows of losses to Dare and Go and Alphabet Soup. He was also aboard Cigar in the 1996 loss to Skip Away.

This year, Jerry Bailey will be aboard the sleek and fleet-of-foot gray, rather than the elegant bay. As Skip Away strides powerfully around the Belmont track with Bailey aboard on that day in October, he will be racing the ghost of Cigar--for ghosts are all that can provide a challenge to Skip Away in 1998. Cigar's earnings record looms in the not-to-distant future. The goal is to break $10 million before Skip Away retires, which would beat Cigar's record by a nose... (or $185)... Skip Away only needs to put his nose on the wire first in his next start and the record will be his.

Let's take a look back in time to the 1996 Jockey Club Gold Cup through the eyes of an adoring fan of Cigar and recall the memories of one of Skip Away's greatest achievements in racing, beating the "unbeatable" Cigar.

Seeing A Champion...

The first morning sunlight reflected off the bay, casting sleepy shadows over New York City on this early Sunday morning. After the plane successfully left the ground, I finally relaxed. Flying always made me nervous. Since the fifteen-hundred miles I flew yesterday went smoothly in the air, I convinced myself the return trip would be the same.

As I gazed out the window, my thoughts turned to the whirlwind journey the last twenty hours had been. With only two days notice, I had received a round-trip ticket to see a horse race in New York. Not just any race, but Cigar's last race in America. Having never seen the great champion in person, this opportunity was a dream come true. Work, bills and obligations be damned, I was going to see Cigar!

Although my schedule only allowed me to fly to New York on the day of the race, arriving at 1:00 p.m., I would still have time to watch many of the races that day and catch the big one at 5:35. Many of my Internet friends planned to meet me at 1:30, show me a great time and help me find a place to stay after the races. The plan was perfect! There was a small catch with the tickets. They were standby tickets only, but I knew that nothing would go wrong because this trip was meant to be.

Saturday morning I hurriedly rushed to the airport for my flight at 7:52. There were a few tense moments when the ticket agent informed me there may not be a seat available, however, my name was called to board the plane, and relief washed over my body. The next flight out would have gotten me to New York at 4:30, three-and-a-half hours later and only an hour ahead of Cigar's race. That would be pushing my luck. So, with my single carryon, I quickly walked through the tunnel and stepped on board the plane.

"Ma'am, we are sorry, but there is not a seat available." I heard a voice say. But they couldn't be talking to me, because they called my name, so I continued.

"Ma'am, I am going to have to request that you leave the plane. There are no seats available." This time two flight attendants stepped in front of me and politely pointed toward the door.

As I turned and walked slowly up the tunnel I realized that I may not get to see Cigar after all. "Maybe, I should just stay home. I can at least see the race on TV." I said quietly to myself. At that moment, I thought about Secretariat. I had always dreamed of seeing him and planned on making the trip to Kentucky some day, but he died before I had the chance. I could feel the determination building inside me. This trip was more than just seeing a race, more than just seeing Cigar - it was about being true to my life's dream. There was nothing that would stop me from getting to New York!

The next flight was scheduled to depart at 11:00 a.m., connect through Chicago on a 1:00 flight to Laguardia, arriving at 4:30. I convinced myself that the worst was behind me and boarded the plane. The door closed and the plane pushed away from the terminal. Thank God, I made it! I busied myself with safety booklets while we taxied around the runway. The minutes ticked by as we waited for our turn to leave, then suddenly the engines sounded as if they had been shut off.

"Ah, ladies and gentlemen, we are all fine for take off, but the tower has informed us that Chicago airport has had a computer failure. No planes can land until it is up and we aren't sure how long that'll take. We've cut the engines while we're waiting and we'll let ya' know as soon as we're clear to go." The pilots message crackled over the radio.

This can't be. I removed the flight schedule from my backpack and checked to see how much time I had to catch my connection in Chicago. If I missed that connection, all would be lost. I prayed for some divine influence, then checked my watch and waited then prayed some more. Twenty minutes later, we were in the air.

The rest of the flight to Chicago and the departure to New York was uneventful. As we began to approach Laguardia, I developed an emergency plan if the plane happened to crash on landing. I was sitting four rows away from the nearest exit which provided for a quick escape. If we crashed, it would probably be in the bay. I could swim to shore and run to the street, hail a cab and still catch the race. I was leaving nothing to chance. Thankfully, this plan didn't have to be implemented.

Forty minutes remained before Cigar's race began, and the only thing between me and Belmont Park was a cab driver that could barely speak English and New York City traffic. After we were under way, the cabbie did manage to communicate to me that the trip would be $50! That was $30 more than the estimated price for cab fares to Belmont, but there was nothing I could do, so I paid it.

The cabbie then refused to take me to the entrance of the track, but dropped me off on the street instead with about a 600-yard walk in high heels, carrying my travel bag and 15 minutes to go before Cigar came to the paddock. So I ran... just like Forrest Gump. If people looked at me oddly, I cared not a bit. I had made it to Belmont Park with 5 minutes to spare.

Just past the entrance gate lies the famous paddock at Belmont. That is where my eyes beheld the famous statue of Secretariat in his powerful stride forever frozen in time. I watched the circus-like events around me, as I tried to catch my breath. The NBC crew interviewed people and the cameras followed the horses around as they were paraded before the crowds. It seemed so small compared to how I had envisioned it, yet it was perfect. The horses in the paddock at the moment were two-year-old colts preparing for the Champaign. I decided to find a seat to watch the race.

The size of the 1-1/2 mile track was smaller to me than my mind had imagined. Then I realized that it wasn't the size that had impressed me so all through the years, it was the events which took place here. I watched Secretariat win the triple crown, Ruffian break down in the match race with Foolish Pleasure, Affirmed and Alydar in their famous duel, Go For Wand's tragic demise and most recently Cigar win all four of his races here. All types of historical images played through my mind. I said a silent prayer for Cigar to be safe.

The two-year-old race was over before I knew what happened. After watching the big races on TV all through the years, I am glad I had at least one race to adjust to live racing before Cigar hit the track. Now it was time to get to the paddock and get a good spot to take pictures of The Horse of the World.

The crowd had grown to about five or six people deep, by the time I made it back to the paddock. Looking for a nice spot, I spied a place with only a few people and rushed right over. Luckily, I got a spot right on the rail. There was a little wait for the horses, so I looked around and was amazed at all the families that were crowding in to catch a glimpse of Cigar. Little children were perched on the rail all around, some were on their parents shoulders and some peered through the fence at knee level. We all were waiting for the moment when he walked by us. And suddenly the crowd began to applaud and cheer off in the distance.

A bay horse entered the walking ring and I heard a little voice say:

"Is that Cigar daddy?"

"No son, that isn't him."

I turned to him and said, "Cigar has a lot of white in his tail, look for that when a horse walks by."

"I got to see Cigar in his stall and he let me pet him!" the little boy exclaimed.

"Wow, you are a very lucky little boy. I've never seen him before." I was truly happy for this boy who had to be about four years old. What a wonderful way to start your life.

As we were talking, a wave of applause was coming closer and the anticipation was growing. Then he turned the corner and quietly strode right by us. He was the perfect gentleman, giving his two handlers no trouble at all. The wave of cheering reached us and we chimed right in until he was out of sight and the applause followed him. We repeated this process at least three times, no one wanted it to end, but Cigar had to get ready to race.

Skip Away had also entered and I noticed immediately how fit he was. He is a beautifully sleek dapple gray and he was on his toes, a sudden sense of foreboding overwhelmed me. This could be the horse that gives Cigar his toughest challenge yet.

The father and son moved away from the rail and an older man named Tom took their place. He and I struck up a conversation and I mentioned what I had gone through to get to see Cigar. I had been unable to locate any of the friends I had planned to meet so he offered to take me to a nice seat and watch the race with him. Another woman gave me an autographed picture of Cigar because she heard I missed the fanfare autograph session. She had been holding it all day. It was beaten up pretty badly with a big crease right down the center of the picture with all the ends bent in odd directions. It was beautiful! This picture represented every thing I had been through to get here and it was perfect.

Now the tension was building. Someone hoisted Jerry Bailey into the saddle and the crowd let out a huge cheer. Cigar danced a graceful few steps sideways and swished his tail in acceptance of our appreciation. The applause followed Cigar through the tunnel and out onto the track and I realized that I had better get to my seat. Tom and I quickly walked to our seats and reached them just as the horses were finishing the post parade. I made it just in time to give a big cheer as the announcer called out his name. Tom began telling everyone around him, "This young lady traveled 1,500 miles this morning, just to see Cigar!" He was quite impressed with my story and a very sweet man. He helped ease my nerves by chatting with me as we both watched Cigar warm up on the other side of the track.

As Cigar cantered by us, we all gave a big cheer and the wave followed him down the track toward the starting gate. The feeling of anticipation was all around us as Cigar quietly loaded into the starting gate. The gates sprang open and everybody got a great start. Skip Away joined Louis Quatorez on the lead, with Cigar about four lengths behind. Tom Durkin called out the first quarter fractions and many people looked more than a little concerned for Cigar. Skip Away was running slowly and if he continued with these fractions, Cigar was going to have a tough time catching him. The call for the half mile was another slow time and Cigar was even further behind. Six lengths separated the leaders and Cigar at the far turn and it was clear that Cigar was not running his race.

Half way around the turn, Jerry Bailey sent Cigar after Skip Away, but Skip Away was full of run and 4 lengths ahead of Cigar. They reached the top of the stretch and the crowd erupted in cheers as Cigar started making up ground, but Skip Away was not giving up. At an 1/8 of a mile, Cigar had come within a length of Skip Away. As they came flying past my seat, I could see Jerry Bailey pumping his arms frantically urging every ounce of run Cigar possessed.

With 1/16 of a mile to go, Cigar was making a move. The crowd was so loud, I couldn't hear Tom Durkin's call. They rushed toward the finish line together, with Cigar gaining with every stride, but Skip Away was still in the lead. They crossed the finish line together and from the angle I was at there was no way to tell who won. It looked like Cigar may have won, but then I saw Skip Away's rider raise his stick in the air in celebration and Bailey quietly rode Cigar to the turn.

The crowd was stunned, but no one knew for sure what happened, the horses were too close to call. We waited for what seemed an eternity and then received the dreaded news. Skip Away won by a short head. The whole place was stunned. Tom turned to me and said, "I'm so sorry for you. You came all this way and he lost."

I have to admit that Cigar's loss was shocking and disappointing, but I have so much respect for how hard he tried. He didn't give up fighting and after watching the replay, you could see that Cigar passed Skip Away in the very next stride after the finish line. It was a gallant effort and Cigar didn't even know he lost. He came cantering back to toward the winner's circle with his ears pricked, looking toward the crowd as if to say, "Why aren't you applauding?"

Sadly, I had to leave the track right after the race to catch a train into the city. I wanted to watch Cigar walk back to the barn, but maybe I'll get to visit him at the farm when he retires. As I was walking toward the train,the man and his son, that were beside me at the paddock, passed by.

"Did Cigar win, daddy?"

"No, Skip Away won by a head. Cigar came in second today." His father replied softly.

"Well, is it okay if I still think he's number one?" Asked the little boy, with a hint of confusion in his voice.

"Cigar will always be number one, and don't ever forget that you got to pet him." I replied.