A recently-discovered throat abscess in Discreet Cat has been cited as the probable reason for the millionaire racehorse’s poor showing in the Dubai World Cup yesterday (March 31), according to a Sportinglife.com story. After wins in his first six starts, the Godolphin-owned horse finished last of seven in the feature race at Nad al Sheba racecourse in the UAE.

An update posted today (April 1) on the Godolphin Web site indicates that the colt underwent a complete post-race physical that “included an endoscopic examination of his respiratory tract, which revealed an obstructive granulomatous mass within his throat, in addition to significant swelling of the underlying throat wall, as a result of an infective process.”

The Godolphin site reports that a routine endoscopic examination during the week before the race found no abnormalities