New York's final Grade I of the year looked to be an exciting race. Bonapaw, Harlan's Holiday and Crafty C.T. were all participants in the Breeders' Cup at Arlington Park in their last starts. Red Bullet who had captured The Preakness Stakes last year seemed to be on the comeback trail after a victory in the Foggy Road Stakes at Delaware Park. The Bob Baffert trained Congaree  won the Wood Memorial Stakes as a three-year-old over the Aqueduct track.

Red Bullet was the lukewarm favorite

Under dark Aqueduct skies as a light rain began to fall the field broke from the gate. Bonapaw took off with the early lead with Crafty C.T. and jockey Pat Valenzuela not far behind. When the field turned for home it was all Congaree and Jerry Bailey. They increased the margin of victory under "intermittent left hand encouragement" and came very close to the track record turning in a final time of 1:33.11 . One might say that Congaree "smoked em" in The Cigar Mile.

Congaree and Jerry Bailey

An easy victory for Congaree and Jerry Bailey

     Cigar Mile Day

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