Mott, Mandella go at it again in Pacific Classic, 30 years after a memorable upset

DEL MAR, Calif. – The first things Richard Mandella noticed in the moments after Dare and Go scored an upset against fan favorite Cigar in the 1996 Pacific Classic were evident from his position in the grandstand.

“When they came to the finish, the crowd was just silent,” Mandella recalled earlier this month. “The lady in the box in front of me was sobbing tears.”

The Mandella-trained Dare and Go, dismissed at 39-1, closed from fourth in a field of six to win the Pacific Classic by 3 1/2 lengths over Cigar, who had won 16 consecutive races and was the 1-10 favorite.

“When Dare and Go went by the wire, the cameras were on me and I didn’t know it,” Mandella said. “I said, ‘Son of a bitch!’ You could read my lips.”

Mandella’s words summed up the reaction shared by many observers who thought Cigar was a sure-thing winner in the Pacific Classic and, with the win, would surpass Citation’s then-record for consecutive wins.

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Cigar engaged the pacesetter Siphon in a speed duel, went past that rival to lead in early stretch, but could not hold off Dare And Go.

A winning streak that began at Aqueduct in the fall of 1994, including 10 Grade 1 stakes as well as the first Dubai World Cup in March 1996, ended with a game second.

Cigar’s appearance gave the Pacific Classic its largest audience with an ontrack crowd of 44,181, the highest in track history for a non-opening-day program. The race drew nationwide media attention.

Memories of the 1996 Pacific Classic are a quick recall for Mandella, and for Bill Mott, his East Coast-based counterpart who trained Cigar.

Both have runners in this year’s Pacific Classic on Saturday. Mott starts Knightsbridge, winner of three Grade 3 races this year at Gulfstream Park and Monmouth Park and the 5-2 morning-line favorite. Mandella runs Subsandor, a Grade 1 winner in 2024.

Since the famous 1996 Pacific Classic, both men, Hall of Famers, have had success in the Pacific Classic.

Dare and Go was the first of four winners for Mandella, followed by Gentlemen (1997), Pleasantly Perfect (2004), and the mare Beholder (2015). Mandella has been second three times in the last 10 years, with Beholder in 2016, Tizamagician in 2021, and Geaux Rocket Ride in 2023.

Mott won the 2008 Pacific Classic with Go Between.

Beholder was a popular winner, the only filly or mare to succeed in a race first run in 1991.

Cigar was a 6-year-old in 1996 with national appeal. The winning streak propelled the interest of not only devoted and casual racing fans, but the general sports audience.

Mott was at center stage as the team’s spokesman.

“I felt an obligation to the sport, I guess, somewhat more than ever,” he said from his Saratoga base earlier this month.

“In that instance, he was being followed by a lot of people and a lot of people that are not regulars in the sport. I felt I owed everyone an interview or a few words if they wanted it.

“It was a great time in my career.”

Siphon was the 6-1 second choice in the Pacific Classic on the strength of a four-race winning streak that included a front-running victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup six weeks earlier.

Geri, trained by Mott, was second in the Hollywood Gold Cup. When Geri lost, Mott gained respect for Siphon and feared the chances of that rival in the Pacific Classic.

“He’d kind of got away from us” in the Gold Cup, Mott said. “We didn’t want to let Siphon get away again.”

Siphon set a fast pace in the Pacific Classic, including six furlongs in 1:09.29 and a mile in 1:33.66. The quick tempo took its toll. Siphon faded to third, beaten 10 1/2 lengths, in his last start of 1996.

Cigar was chasing a mighty record in American racing in the Pacific Classic. Citation’s winning streak from 1948 to early 1950 included the 1948 Triple Crown. Mister Frisky won 16 races in Puerto Rico and California in 1989 and 1990 before he finished eighth behind Unbridled in the 1990 Kentucky Derby.

While Cigar equaled Citation and Mister Frisky, the milestone was eventually surpassed. In 2010, Zenyatta won the Grade 1 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park for her 17th consecutive win. The 2010 Horse of the Year, Zenyatta won her first 19 starts before finishing second in her career finale, the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

Zenyatta won three consecutive runnings of the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares at Del Mar, but never started in the Pacific Classic.

After the 1996 Pacific Classic, Cigar rebounded to win the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park by four lengths for owner Allen Paulson. He was beaten narrowly in his final two starts, losing the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park by a head and the BC Classic at Woodbine when third by a neck.

Dare and Go, owned by La Presle Farm, finished 11th of 13 in that BC Classic in his final start.

But it was a race a few months earlier at Del Mar that produced one of the strongest memories of the 1990s. Even now, Mott is philosophical about the loss and the way the race developed.

“I remember the feeling after,” Mott said. “It was almost a bit of disbelief.

“If you look at how the race was won it was not a surprise. They went the mile in 1:33 going 1 1/4 miles. It ended the streak.

“You take them over there and they’ll get beat eventually.”

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