I'd say my figures are to the same scale as ICs/ORs.
The reason horses win handicaps, for example, is because they are too leniently rated by ORs (and, by implication, ICs). Perhaps there is less disparity at the very top of the scale but there is disparity nonetheless.
Obviously if figures are conservative across the board, as ORs tend to be, and new form is rated on those ORs, then the new figures will be conservative too.
What we have in the Eclipse is the authorities not even going by their own ratings because they make the front two look too good to be true. Why can't it be true for once in 40 years?
Nashwan's Eclipse can lead to some questions. Opening Verse was a 200/1 shot that day (pacemaker for Indian Skimmer?) but beat the latter for second place. Surely that must cast some doubt on the form. No pacemaker got within 28¼ lengths of the winner on Saturday!
Nashwan's Kig George saw a moderate horse called Top Class not beaten far in third and Cacoethes itself was a bit of an outsider.
I suspect Nashwan was over the hill and on the slide by the King George. Maybe the Eclipse bottomed him. STS arguably hasn't had anywhere near as hard a race in any of his three G1s this year and may well be fancied to go on improving.
