'It's unlikely there will ever be parity between Irish and British ratings'

Ireland's senior jumps handicapper has poured cold water on the idea of universal ratings in Britain and Ireland in the wake of controversy over the Cheltenham Festival weights.

Talk of universal ratings has surfaced this week with top trainer Gordon Elliott wondering why the same marks could not be applied to each horse no matter what country they are from.

Elliott said: "Why are we all not operating off the same ratings? Should all these handicappers not be working off the same level-playing field? Maybe having a European rating, whether that be 5lb higher or lower, could apply to every horse."