Spectacular Bid VS Seattle Slew

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

I like how you continue to use Seattle Slew's Swaps effort as a true measure of his ability. The horse was shipping across country to run in a race only 3 weeks after completing the Triple Crown. Against his trainer's wishes.

The horse that beat Seattle Slew...J.O. Tobin. You realize he ran in the Preakness, right? Also, never mind that Seattle Slew didn't run for 10 months following the loss. Clearly he came out of the race in good shape.

You must really have downgraded Quality Road after the BC Classic.

Seattle's Slew's Swaps proved nothing other than that he was a one-dimensional speed horse and he didn't fire when he was boxed in. It was a non-effort followed by a layoff. I agree.

Originally Posted by RolloTomasi

Instead of focusing on the Swaps as your answer to everyone challenging your assessment of Slew, why don't you comment on the head-to-head between Seattle Slew and Affirmed (who toyed with Spectacular Bid), rightly brought up (even if IC was kidding) after you suggested Alydar would have beaten him in all 3 Classics?

Affirmed ran a career top Beyer of 128 (on Beyer's old scale) when he beat Bid in a match-up of 4yo VS 3yo. Affirmed got to jog through pokey fractions on an uncontested lead and barely held. No horse in history is going to beat Affirmed on a loose lead through 25 flat fractions. Spectacular Bid made it very close at a distance that wasn't his best.

When Seattle Slew (as a 4yo) beat Affirmed (as a 3yo) - Affirmed appeared to be tailing off from a very tough 3yo campaign. In Affirmed's two subsquent starts - he was 3rd in the Malibu stakes at 1/5 odds and 2nd in the San Fernando at 1/2 odds.

How do you think Spectacular Bid (at age 4) would have faired against Seattle Slew (at age 3) - I know you aren't a numbers guy but virtually every single race Bid ran at age 4 was about double digit lengths faster than every single race Slew ran at age 3.