Are Systems Better Than Ratings?
They are totally different. You should only use ratings as a variable in a system and not use them blindly or you'll just lose money.
Flat
2y: 80+
3y: 90+
4y: 100+?
Jumps
Juveniles: 100+
4y Hdles: 110+
H & C’s: 120+
As a quick little example in response to the last two comments here - until I started doing my own ratings, or rather in an attempt to get a grip/rating for lightly raced types, I used to note horses that were 5lbClr on two sets of figures, whether that be Topspeed/RPR & or Official Ratings, as long as a horse was 5lbClr on any two -
& decided what we need is a cut-off point as to whether the figure is Worthy of being backable or not-so worthy & Layable,
I note that there were a couple of good examples today, as Bryn's, Sister Andrea loses 3.55 Yarmouth, she had an Unworthy 5lbClr figure & that J Gosden's, Electrician, the first @ Yarmouth, he was a Worthy 5lb'er as his unadjusted figs would have exceeded 80 the cut-off point for 2yo's, he won 8/11f
I recall trainer R Hannon's 5lb'ers being pretty reliable worthy or not & that any horse that beats a Worthy 5lb'er, they usually turn out pretty good & win again.
PS: GS can now be followed on Twitter as @themastarata