Thanks for the advice freddy. You're right. Can't pick 'em all. But I was asking about statistical batches. The trouble is that the category "placegetter" is very broad. It includes a diverse range of horses that have few characteristics in common. I'm wondering if maybe a batch of 1st and 2nds only would be more than one third more stable, if you see what I mean? Maybe it is far easier to find meaningful trends in the 1st-2nds category because it is the third runner that upsets the trends???

I'Ii try out placegetters last two starts and see.