The festival handicaps loophole that might point you towards some good things

Asked about the chances of his outsized squad of handicappers for the Cheltenham Festival after Tuesday's weights were released, Gordon Elliott took the opportunity to pick at the whole system. He asked why there needed to be different ratings at all for Irish- and British-trained horses.

"Why are we all not operating off the same ratings?" he asked. "Should all these handicappers not be working off the same level-playing field?"

Right on, Gordon. It is the third decade of the 21st century; of course there should be a global handicap. It would be easy over jumps, with Britain, Ireland and France providing the vast majority of the good-quality races. But it is even more pressing on the Flat.