Why Irish horses are better handicapped - a ratings expert explains

The inquest into why Irish jump horses have become so much better than those trained in Britain will rumble on for a good while, but there is one related subject that has caused arguably even more bafflement: why are they also better handicapped?

Handicaps, theoretically, ought to level the playing field. If the better horses are trained in Ireland, they are supposed to carry sufficient weight to give the others an equal chance in the handicaps.

But this clearly didn’t happen at Cheltenham, where Irish horses won seven of the nine handicaps, a dominance that has been growing over time just as it has at the festival overall. So why is it happening?