Dubai: Olivia Mott was not even born when the legendary Cigar burned across the track to become the inaugural Dubai World Cup winner in 1996. But the daughter of Cigar’s trainer Bill Mott is fully aware of what it means to have a champion horse connected with the family.
In Dubai for Saturday’s 20th running of the world’s richest horse race, 17-year-old Olivia was with her famous father at Meydan Racecourse on Thursday morning. And she could not stop gushing about a horse that has been so closely connected with the Mott family.
“Cigar was the pride and joy of our family. Even though he grew into a legend much before my birth, I’ve heard so much about him, mostly from my dad and my two brothers, Brady and Riley, who was here when Cigar won,” Olivia told Gulf News.
“After hearing so much about the horse and about this city I was only too keen to come and see things for myself. I am so excited to be here. The perfect thing would be [for Lea] to win on Saturday and try and recapture the same feelings they went through 20 years ago.”
Olivia lives with her mother and goes to school in Saratoga, New York. “I don’t get to see so much of the action with the training of the horses by my dad and my youngest brother [Riley], who is his assistant. But this week will make up for it a lot,” she said.
