The H[9 grade] was an attempt to grade the difficulty of the headpoint experience rather than guessing at what an onsight would feel like. Aid-climbers don't guess at free grades so why should headpointers guess at onsight grades? The gear and moves of Dr. Dolittle (note one 'o') are so unobvious that a true onsight would be much harder than for other comparably-physical and comparably protectable routes. [1]
The route required some advance shoe tactics:
When I was working Dr Dolittle I could only do the crux in a pair of band new prototype Boreals 3 1/2 sizes below street shoe size and even then with a couple of old credit cards fitted as extra insole support. I needed a karabiner through the heel loop to get them on or risk tweaking tendons by pulling too hard on a single finger. [2]
References
[1] Westlake, D. (2010). Froggatt to Black Rocks.
[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/gear/when_do_you_know_if_your_rock_shoes_are_too_small-518555?v=1#x7002988