I would prefer to refrain from debating any specific figure because (again) I believe there's going to be a lot of different opinions on how fast the race went.

I will just say this.

If you gave a theoretical figure to Smarty, RHT and Eddington for the 1 1/4 it would be MUCH higher than their 1 1/2 figure.

Granted there was a wind against them in the stretch. That contributed a little to the slow final quarter, but you don't need especially good visual skills to see that Smarty was dragging his butt in the final 1/8 or more. Eddington and RHT finished like coma patients.

I can't see how you can conclude anything but that RHT and Eddington's figures had to have collapsed substantially and Smarty's declined by a not insignificant amount. It's the degree that is probably debateable.

Whether that collapse was due to their efforts on the backstretch, the 1 1/2, or a little of both is hard to guage.

However, it is possible that some people might build the effects of the trip into their track variant and give RHT, Eddington, and Smarty too much credit speed figure wise and thus overrate the speed of Birdstone and Royal Assualt.

I hope this point is clear.

What I am saying is that I believe they ran slower due to early effort and not track speed.

It's pretty difficult to guage what figure Birdstone might have run. He's had an impossible spring.

Royal Assault is a little easier, but it is no mortal lock that he ran back to a top or even close just because he finished ahead of some other pretty good horses.

IMO, those other pretty good horses were deader than dead in the final quarter due to their efforts etc...

I am using my knowledge of trips, visual skills, and that weak late fraction to conclude this. Lots of people might disagree.

If you want me to guage Smarty's speed figure, I'd say he ran a LOT slower than in the Preakness. If you want me to guage his effort, it wasn't bad at all. He put away two other decent horses and ran 1/4 mile further than he wants. If you want me to guage Birdstone speed and effort they were nothing to write home about.