lol a good point.

And of course they weren't both the same, M&P's was far stronger, but as an example it serves the point.

To put it another way:

Horse A runs 2nd in a class 1 at Bendigo, beaten 6 lengths.

Horse B, in a class 1 at Bendigo of exactly the same strength, runs 9th, beaten 6 lengths.

I would argue Horse A's run was better, others would disagree, but now what if this happens:

One metre before the line, in Horse A's race, the horse who was leading by 6 dumps the rider, meaning Horse A wins.....

In Horse B's race, Horse B is still beaten 6 lengths into 9th place.

So, are those two runs still of the same strength?