LEXINGTON, United States (AFP) – Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse-racing legend Cigar has died at the age of 24, officials at the Kentucky Horse Park said Wednesday.

Twice the Horse of the Year winner, Cigar passed away after surgery at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital.

“Cigar had been experiencing arthritis-related health issues over the past six months and was in outstanding physical and mental condition other than the osteo-arthritis he was suffering from in several of his cervical vertebrae,” said Kathy Hopkins, director of equine operations for the park.

“Medical therapies had failed to relieve the pressure that the arthritis was causing on his spine, which had resulted in instability in his hind legs.”

Cigar won 16 races in a row from October of 1994 to July of 1996, including the first running of the Dubai World Cup in 1996 and the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Owned by Allen Paulson and trained by Bill Mott, Cigar was ridden mainly by another horse-racing Hall of Famer, jockey Jerry Bailey. Cigar was named Horse of the Year in 1995 and 1996 and voted into the Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bailey was aboard Cigar for the final 15 in the streak and said Wednesday of his mount, “He was the best of his generation and certainly the best horse I ever rode.”

Cigar was retired in 1999 and enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2002. Though Cigar didn’t have the name recognition of other horses that ran in Triple Crown races, his winning streak helped generate interest in the sport even among casual fans. Tens of thousands attended the tracks when he was scheduled to race.

“He certainly filled the bill there,” Bailey added.

After going 10-for-10 in 1995, Cigar started 96 by winning the inaugural Dubai World Cup. Later that year, Illinois’ Arlington Park created a special race, the Arlington Citation Challenge, for Cigar to match the 1948 Triple Crown winner’s 16-race streak.

Cigar did that by pulling away down the stretch as the heavy favourite in a 10-horse field.

Bailey blamed himself for losing the race that ended the run, the August 10 Pacific Classic at Del Mar, California. He chose to engage Cigar in a duel with speed horse Siphon early in the 1 1/4 mile-race, and 40-1 shot Dare And Go eventually passed a tired Cigar to win by 3 1/2 lengths.