Majority of Irish Flat handicap horses dropped 2lb 'to level playing field'

Handicap-level horses in Ireland have generally seen their ratings reduced by 2lb after the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board's handicapping team moved to address an apparent imbalance with Pattern-class performers.

Gradual decreases in handicap weights have been taking place at different stages of the season in recent years, with the latest shift, which came into effect on Monday, bringing Irish horses' ratings in line with international levels.

IHRB senior Flat handicapper Garry O'Gorman explained: "The IHRB Flat handicappers periodically monitor the level of the handicap population during the course of the year.

"Historically, it has always been inflated during the course of the season and we find that the level is out of kilter with the international scale of ratings.

"The Group and Listed performers' level [in comparison with handicappers] would be different. We need to address that imbalance by bringing in an interim drop in this case of 2lb."

Garry O'Gorman: 'we find that the level is out of kilter with the international scale of ratings'

He added: "There's been a trend lately where top-weights in premier handicaps, essentially Group or Listed horses, have been beating ordinary handicappers.

"This has happened with the likes of Urban Beat [in the Rockingham Handicap] at the Curragh, Frenetic [in the Doneraile Handicap] at Cork and Current Option [in the Ahonoora Handicap] at the Galway festival.

"There is a danger that where there's a difference in the levels, the level playing field is endangered if we don't do this drop."

Leading racing analyst Kevin Blake believes the move ties in with similar procedures in the Far East.

He said: "I suspect we might be out of line with England around the middle ranges. We're a little bit high and the adjustment is probably there to bring that back.

"One thing I would say is that they do the same thing in Hong Kong. It's a type of across-the-population adjustment that's almost a consequence of having a smaller pool of horses where you get inflation. There is international precedent for this."

Current Option: won the Ahonoora Handicap off top weightCredit: Patrick McCann

O'Gorman added: "There has always been a drop in the level of ratings. When I first started in 1999 there would have been a 5lb drop at the end of the year.

"In essence, that's still happening, but the method we've chosen in recent years is to apply it in increments or instalments. Dropping during the year, monitoring the figures and knowing when to step in and do a drop to ensure a level playing field."

A number of staying handicappers have been excluded from the reductions, with the IHRB handicappers comfortable with those current ratings.

"We're happy given their performances – especially in major English handicaps – that their level is on the international scale," said O'Gorman.

"We also don't drop two-year-olds and Group or Listed performers. It's purely related to the handicap-level horses. In some cases we've dropped horses by 1lb but in most cases it's 2lb."

He added: "The aim of the handicap is to give every horse an equal chance and this is just to ensure that two different categories of horses running in a high-class handicap – like at Longines Irish Champions Weekend – have a level playing field."

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