Barry Irwin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The best grass numbers in the world are made by
> Timeform.
>
> There are two Timeform numbers: a) Timefigure, a
> raw number reflecting the time of the race and b)
> Timeform Rating, a subjective number assigned in
> pounds to reflect the quality of the animal.
>
> Because grass races generally lack pace,
> Timefigures are relatively useless.
>
> Timeform ratings, on the other hand, offer the
> worl's best assessment of the quality of a
> racehorse.
>
> It is the assessment of a horse that is worth
> considering.
>
> Timefigures are worwhile only in learning if a
> horse ran too fast recently to make him react to
> it.
>
> There are no ratings in the United States that are
> comparable to Timeform's and, until somebody
> develops them, numbers generated in our country
> will remain sketchy at best.
>
> FYI, I have never relied on numbers in this
> country for grass racing, because they offer
> little help in running a stable.
>
> I am sure that Jerry does the best job he can and
> that he has had his share of good winners. Jerry
> is no dummy. It is just that the very nature of
> grass racing makes numbers for individual races
> impossible to quantify.
>
> By the way, not to make this a commercial, but in
> the last 20 years horses both owned and managed by
> me have won virtually every grass race worth
> winning in the United States with the exception of
> the Breeders' Cup Mile (and we could have possibly
> won it one year when a horse broke down a day
> before the race that had a big shot). We have also
> won some of the biggest international races in the
> world and raced numerous champions. All without
> numbers. That must mean something.


Nobody is questioning your competence Barry. I'm handicapping the WO Mile now, looking at your Becrux, who won the race last year and figures a shot this year. You know turf racing.

You just need to know that TG and Timeform use very similar methodology when it comes to turf figures. If you spent the least bit of time going over the TG numbers, you would see this.


Good luck with Becrux.