Welcome to Kentucky Derby Prospect Profiles, where we take a look each week at a recent winner on the Road to the Derby schedule of races that offer qualifying points for the 1 ¼-mile first leg of the Triple Crown May 2, 2026, at Churchill Downs.
The $500,000, Grade 2 Cigar Mile Handicap Saturday at Aqueduct offers one final opportunity for accomplished and aspiring stakes horses to compete in a marquee dirt mile race before the calendar turns to 2026. Held around one turn, the Cigar Mile has long been an important race in the dirt mile division since its inaugural running in 1988 when Forty Niner won what was then called the NYRA Mile Handicap.
Uprooting one’s life and moving to a different country is never an easy task, but it’s even tougher when you’re a 19-year-old in a highly competitive sport. Yet, the challenge and pursuit of greatness made such a move a necessity for Brazilian jockey Dylan Machado.
