Multiple Grade 1 winner Tale of Ekati, who enters stud at Darby Dan in 2010, showed that he was one of the world’s top milers in 2008 with wins in the Jerome H. (G2) against 3-year-olds and Cigar Mile H. (G1) against older horses.

Two of the horses Tale of Ekati defeated in that Cigar triumph – Kodiak Kowboy and Bribon (Fr) – came back to win this year’s best pair of mile races on dirt in North America. Kodiak Kowboy earned his third Grade 1 win of the year and became a leading Eclipse contender after winning this year’s Cigar in 1:35.57. Tale of Ekati, who also defeated Kodiak Kowboy in the Futurity S. (G2) at two, won the 2008 Cigar in 1:35.01, while Kodiak Kowboy finished fifth in that year's running.

Bribon, third in the 2008 Cigar behind Tale of Ekati, returned to win this year’s prestigious Met Mile H. (G1). Bribon was also recently a close runner-up to Kodiak Kowboy in the aforementioned Cigar.