I think English Channel's last race will look much better on sheet-figures than it will look any other way.
He gave the winner six pounds at 12 furlongs - which I believe is like 2.9 lengths in weight on the sheets. And the winner, got a great ground saving ride from Calvin Borel, while EC was a little bit wide as I recall.
I'm positive EC came away with the better figure - even though he was beaten by 3 lengths...which is a large margin of victory in a turf race.
I don't think EC is as good as he once was either - but he was beat by a dream-trip winner as I remember, and weight shifts like that can mean a little something in turf marathons. Look at how 3yo's tend to dominate olders in the Arc.
Even if you excuse the loss in the Sword Dancer - his win in the UN came with a dream trip, and his Manhatten effort was blah.
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