People said the same thing about Ghostzapper going into his final Breeders Cup prep. I'm actually dead serious, people thought Ghostzapper wasn't that much at all - and went on and on about how he beat "nothing" in his wins in the Vosburgh, Tom Fool, and Phillip Iselin.
Of course Ghostzapper beat NOTHING at all in this races - certainly nothing like an Invasor, Silver Train, or Badge of Silver - but quality of oppostion is often wildly overrated in horse racing anyway. With the right setup - a lesser horse often beats a superior horse.
In both cases, with Ghostzapper going into his final BC prep at age 4, and Discreet Cat going into his final BC prep at age 4 - the big reputations were far more about talent and explosiveness than it was about accomplishment and durability.
Does Discreet Cat have the talent and explosiveness of a Ghostzapper? Yes, he actually does. Clearly the two most naturally talented horses this decade.
However, one had the great Bobby Frankel in his ultimate training prime of his career - and the other has been handled with legendary incompetence - while forced to make TWO trips to winter in Dubai, and he's had throat problems and other soundness issues.
Discreet Cat has to prove he hasn't been 100% ruined. And it's possible he has. He has nothing else to prove beyond that.
The people who don't think Discreet Cat was an elite race horse are probably the same people who foolishly argued tooth and nail that Ghostzapper "didn't have a prayer" against Pleasantly Perfect because "he has beat all nothing fields."
|