'Possibly the most difficult horse to assess since State Man' - Willie Mullins-trained Sa Majeste leaves handicappers perplexed

Sa Majeste, the ante-post favourite for the Coral Cup and Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle, was described as “the most difficult horse to assess” by the handicapper since his stablemate State Man won the 2022 County Hurdle.

The six-year-old, owned by JP McManus and trained by Willie Mullins, was allocated a rating of 140 as the weights for the nine Cheltenham Festival handicaps were revealed on Tuesday.

When asked which of the Irish representatives caused the biggest headache when deciding a rating, Andrew Mealor, responsible for the hurdles allocations, said: “Sa Majeste is the most difficult horse to assess across all the handicaps. He’s probably the most difficult horse we’ve had to assess for a few years, possibly the most difficult since State Man.

“He’s won a four-runner conditions event at Limerick, beating Noble Yeats, who’s a 165-rated chaser and 152-rated hurdler and won the Cleeve Hurdle. However, the third horse was rated only 105 in Ireland.

“That race could be anything between 130 and 150 odd. You’re trying to assess what Noble Yeats could do in a two-and-a-half-mile hurdle race. You’re just scratching your head, he could be anything."

Biggest Cheltenham Festival weight hikes for horses trained in Ireland

Read To Return (112) 123 +11 (Kim Muir)
Good Time Jonny (132) 142 +10 (Kim Muir)
Fils D’Oudairies (137) 144 +7 (Grand Annual)
Perceval Legallois (137) 144 +7 (Kim Muir)
Western Fold (133) 140 +7 (Coral Cup, Martin Pipe)
Spinning Web (109) 116 +7 (Boodles)
Popova (125) 132 +7 (Pertemps)
Black Bamboo (121) 128 +7 (Coral Cup, Martin Pipe, County)
Waterford Whispers (127) 133 +6 (Martin Pipe)
Chavez (132) 138 +6 (Ultima, Plate, Kim Muir)
Starzov 119 (125) +6 (Pertemps)

The Limerick race was only the fourth of Sa Majeste's career, and the second since joining Mullins from France.

Mealor added: “It was so difficult that we conferred with the Irish handicapper, Shay Quinn. We came to a figure of 140 that we were all broadly comfortable with and it seems as though he’s quite fancied off that mark. Ideally, we’d like to have a bit more evidence but he’s qualified.”

Tony Martin’s Good Time Jonny was one of the biggest risers in the weights with his revised chase mark of 142, 10lb higher than his Irish rating over fences.

Martin Greenwood, responsible for the chase allocations, was satisfied with the rise despite last season’s Pertemps Final winner being well beaten in six starts over fences, including at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

Good Time Jonny is a general 7-1 for the Kim Muir, for which he is able to compete off the same rating as when scoring by three and a quarter lengths over hurdles at last year’s festival.

“He’s still favourite and we know he can win off 142,” said Greenwood. “I know that was hurdling but we know he has the latent ability to win off that mark, hence part of our decision was to make him a 142-rated chaser.

Good Time Jonny: last season's Pertemps winner has been given a 10lb rise on his Irish chase markCredit: Patrick McCann

“This won't be a surprise to Tony Martin, who contacted my colleague Michael Harris before he ran on Saturday. What that race told anyone is beyond us. We already knew he was a 142-rated chaser.” 

The 18 handicaps run at the last two festivals have been shared equally with nine victories apiece for Britain and Ireland. Greenwood hopes that competitiveness will continue next month and said: “The pressure’s on at Cheltenham and Aintree, and we’re hoping for another 5-4 at Cheltenham. 

"There was a 7-2 to Ireland three years ago. As a handicapping team, both us and the Irish guys, if we can get a 5-4 either way we’re probably going to breathe easier.”

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