Bottoms up – the changing nature of popular Flat handicaps

A trend evident in recent years is a rise in the official ratings of bottomweights in many of the big British Flat handicaps run before July, with increases generally much bigger in handicaps not restricted to three-year-olds.

For example, the average of the bottomweights’ official handicap marks in the Victoria Cup – which is open to horses aged four and upwards and takes place over a straight seven-furlongs at Ascot tomorrow (4.00) – has risen by around 5lb across the last ten years. Bottomweights in runnings between 2008 and 2013 returned a rating average of 84, but from 2014 onwards this average has gone up to 89. Saturday’s bottomweight Noble Peace is rated 84, but just five of the 27 runners have marks below 91.

Ratings of bottomweights have risen significantly in many big handicaps open to older horses