It's rare when the two best horses in a season are owned by the same person. That's arguably the case this year with two 3-year-old colts, Bernardini and Discreet Cat, who are owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai.
When an owner has two superstar horses of the same ilk, typically they are kept apart. Sheikh Mohammed is doing the common-sense thing right now. However, there comes a time, such as a race to decide a championship or in the Kentucky Derby, when a face-off between stablemate superstars is inevitable.
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The Breeders' Cup Classic usually decides the Horse of the Year. If Bernardini and Discreet Cat faced one another in the Classic, it could decide a mythical "Horse of the World" title. Sheik Mohammed appears determined to make sure that doesn't happen, and that's too bad for the sport.
In 1973, I attended my first horse race. It was the Kentucky Derby won by Secretariat, who went on to win the Triple Crown. His owner, Penny Chenery, also owned the top older horse that year: Riva Ridge.
Jack Landry, a Marlboro cigarette executive and horse racing fan, proposed that his company sponsor a match race between Secretariat and Riva Ridge to decide which horse was better. Chenery, ever the sportsperson, was willing, but not in a match race. The idea bloomed into the Marlboro Cup, which attracted a field worthy of a Breeders' Cup Classic, if there were such a thing in 1973.
Secretariat beat Riva Ridge, who finished a clear second. The race proved two things: Chenery did own the two best horses in training, and Secretariat was better than Riva Ridge, who gained respect in defeat.
I hope it's not sacrilege to compare Bernardini and Discreet Cat to Secretariat and Riva Ridge, but you get my drift. And there are other reasons why the two colts should meet in the Classic.
If Sheikh Mohammed is worried the losing horse would see his potential stud value drop, I couldn't disagree more. Both have a royal pedigree to command six-figure stud fees. And the last time I looked, this sport is called horse racing, not horse breeding.
Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.
