If his other accomplishments don't matter, than surely his other losses don't matter either. Its rather apparent from his record that Sea Hero was the type of horse that had to run to find his best form, something that was exploited masterfully by Mack Miller, given that aside from a maiden win (which took several starts) and an allowance tune-up at 4, his only other victories came in the important Champagne, Derby, and Travers. If you want to dock him for losing blatant prep races like the Bluegrass and Jim Dandy, then that just underlines one of racing's major problems nowadays: that trainers (and fans) somehow have come to expect that top horses have to win every start.
Not that his best efforts were necessarily killer, but Sea Hero won races when it most mattered, and the fact that he was able to produce top form and win 3 of his 6 most important tests (Champagne, BC Juvenile, Derby, Preakness, Belmont, Travers) by open lengths has to have come from something more than just mere coincidence. Certainly, these focused performances amid a bevy of failures in lesser races has to be superior to the consistent mediocrity that Giacomo displayed in his career.
But regardless, simply put, Sea Hero, speedfigure-wise, ran faster than Giacomo in their respective Derbies (105 BSF vs. 100 BSF).
And just for a little more pull in his favor, Sea Hero, in his best performance, won the '93 Travers over a deep field:
Kissin Kris- Belmont runner up, recent Haskell winner who later was 3rd in that year's BC Classic
Miner's Mark- Jim Dandy winner and subsequent winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup
Cherokee Run- Preakness runner up, subsequent BC Sprint winner and champion
Devoted Brass- Swaps winner, later a winner in Saudi Arabia
Virginia Rapids- Peter Pan winner, subsequent Carter winner
Colonial Affair- Belmont winner, subsequent JCGC and Whitney winner
Giacomo, in his only subsequent win defeated Preachinatthebar and Papi Chullo.
Oh...and Rathor.
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