I don't really know anything about this but i do think it is a bit weird. Horses which have been bred for years to run fast suddenly started needing breathing ops to try and see races out, usually resulting in significantly improved form. To my mind Nicholls seemed to really start all of this and now everyone else is doing the same has moved on to ulcers.
There may well be something in it but a suspicious mind could view it as a convenient excuse to take a horse out of action for a while and then have a ready reason for being a better horse. I haven't really taken the time to look in to it, but something doesn't sit right with me.