Handicapper beginning to peak despite uninspiring form figures

My Old Gold
1.45 Wetherby
1pt winArthington
2.00 Lingfield
1pt winYou Never Can Tell
4.20 Kempton
1pt win

Irish trainers have a reputation for moaning about the treatment of their handicap hurdlers by the British assessor, but it hasn't stopped them winning eight of the last ten handicap hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival.

That said, there are occasions when a horse's British mark defies belief when compared to its Irish form and a case in point is Fiesole. The seven-year-old went from trainer Eoin Doyle – after winning a Tipperary handicap by four lengths off 112 – to Olly Murphy and was subsequently given a rating of 133.