Surely the 21 day rule would be dependant on whether the horses are sprinters, middle distance horses or stayers and what class of races are being targeted. quick turnarounds of 7 to 14 days seem to favor sprinters and it tells the punter one important fact, there have been no 'issues' with the horse since it's last start and it's fit and ready to go [again].

Blanket stats covering everything don't suit all systems and indeed all race types either. They can be quiet misleading. Barrier positions are a classic example of misleading stats. For all races they suggest there is no real inside barrier advantage [minute anyway]. Break them down to field sizes and I'd rather a draw from 1 to 7 in a 16 or 18 field sprint.