Hey guys I know this thread has been dead for a little bit but I have something valuable to add re sectionals:

Brave Chief (nice nick btw a great kind of horse to back, front runner in fast pace) you're looking into using indiv. secs to rate, etc, I have researched that a LOT and I have ABANDONED it, for MANY reasons, but one of which was this (I call this the Lonhro vs Mummify example)

Lonhro beat Mummify in the Underwood at Caulfield in a slow pace in which Mummify led. Lonhro sat off, out sprinted him, had him beat turning. Shortly afterwards Mummify set a new track record leading all the way in the Caulfield Cup.

Had Lonhro been in that Caulfield Cup (even if it had been over 1800m), he would NOT have run Mummify down, yet two (?) weeks or so earlier he brained him in a sit and sprint.

To further emphasise this - put Lohro against Might and Power at Caul over say 2000m when M&P leads fast. Lonhro flattens turning and M&P keeps on to beat him a couple of lengths. If it's sit and sprint with Lonhro still the same dist from M&P prior to turning, Lonhro outsprints him.

Definitely.

Point (if not gathered) is this - horses have different "cruising" speeds and different sprints. given a different race pace different results prevail. This makes using secs as a UNIVERSAL measure pointless.

Duritz.