'Strength of depth in Ireland is there to see' - British assessors explain rise in marks for Irish handicappers at Cheltenham

British handicappers said the "strength in depth" of Ireland's jumpers was behind the rise in the weights for Irish-trained runners in the Cheltenham Festival handicaps.

Among the notable increases announced on Tuesday was the 3lb rise handed to Wodhooh after her Cheltenham win in December. The Gordon Elliott-trained five-year-old's form was boosted by runner-up Joyeuse's victory in the William Hill Hurdle at Newbury this month.

The BHA's handicapper for hurdlers Michael Harris said: "Wodhooh won here earlier in the season and that form has worked out strongly. I initially put her up 8lb for winning but then it'll be another 3lb for the form developing."

Elsewhere, the Elliott-trained Cleatus Poolaw was raised 6lb and the National Hunt Chase-bound Captain Cody raised 5lb for Willie Mullins. Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle topweight Willy De Houelle has gone up 2lb from his Irish mark.

The increases were not confined to Irish horses, with the Sam Thomas-trained impressive Ladbrokes Trophy winner Katate Dori raised 12lb to 137.

Katate Dori: impressive Newbury winner has been raised to a mark of 137Credit: Edward Whitaker

The assessors had three more races to judge at the weights lunch following a number of changes at the start of the season to improve competitiveness. The Glenfarclas Cross Country and National Hunt Chase have become handicaps, while the Grade 1 Turners Novices’ Chase has been replaced by a 2m4f novice handicap chase.

The average rise for Irish-trained horses was up for on last year. Juvenile hurdlers were rated on average 4.4lb higher, five-year-old and older handicap hurdlers 3.9lb and chasers 2.1lb. That compares to 2.9lb, 2.9lb and 2.1lb on 2023.

Martin Greenwood, in charge of rating the chasers, said: “In the last few years it's been 5-4, 4-5 in the handicaps but we've always handicapped the Irish horses ourselves. It's not a new thing and we haven't suddenly decided to handicap the Irish horses more harshly but we've taken stronger views on their novices. 

"You don't get a field of six 140 hurdlers running in a British novice chase, the strength in depth in Ireland is there to see. It's obvious why you get the 140 chasers coming out of it. We haven't altered our approach that much. It's great when the handicaps are roughly split but we're not malevolent. We're not trying to make horses not win."

Read more on the Cheltenham weights:

What rating has plunge horse Kopeck De Mee been given? Weights revealed for Cheltenham Festival handicaps 

Kopeck De Mee shortens further for Martin Pipe as BHA handicapper admits he is restricted as to what mark he can give him 

Two of our experts nominate four well-handicapped horses at the Cheltenham Festival - including a pair of JP McManus novices 

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