THE Cheltenham Festival is now less than two months away, and qualification for the Foxhunters, one of the showpiece races in the hunter chase calendar on both sides of the Irish Sea, will be coming to the fore in the thoughts of many handlers here.

Competition to not only get a horse qualified, but also to ensure that the horse features among the maximum field of 24 is as intense as ever, if last year’s renewal is anything to go by.

Last year, a number of leading Irish point-to-pointers were balloted out of the big race, such as that season’s champion point-to-pointer Ourmanmassini, the sadly ill-fated Sprintingforgold and Colin McBratney’s Quiet Account.

The criteria to gain a confirmed run in the race are controversial to the more point-to-point orientated follower, as priority is given to former track horses, with each entrant being assessed solely on what they achieved under rules.

This allowed a number of horses who were significantly out of their depth into the Foxhunters, at the expense of horses like Ourmanmassini, a horse who went on to win a further four open races last season after being balloted out of the big race.

Horses such as Lets Get Serious, a 200/1 shot for the Foxhunters, who had not run since being beaten 59 lengths in a handicap hurdle two years earlier, and a number of other rank outsiders, gained entry into the race on account of historical track form, in favour of more recent point-to-point form, which is surely more useful in gauging a horse’s entitlement to run in such a race.

EXPLANATION

Recently, Phil Smith, the Head of Handicapping at the BHA, provided the UK Point-to-Point Owners and Riders Association with an explanation as to how each horse is assessed under the unique guidelines that are used to assemble the final field of 24 for the Cheltenham Foxhunters.

“I will look at the performances of all entered horses that have run under the rules of racing and have been assessed by my team of BHA Handicappers. I will look at each horse and make sure I am happy with their current rating or adjust it if necessary. For example, if a horse hasn’t run under rules for a period of time, e.g. because of injury, I will reassess their rating.

“I will often drop a horse’s rating if it has been off the track or not run under rules for a period of time, and the exact amount of the drop will be dependent on numerous factors, such as most recent performances, length of the time absent, age of the horse etc.

“Please be aware, I will not take into consideration form in point-to-points for a horse’s rating.

“To clarify this further, if a horse hasn’t run under rules for nine months, its rating will have been deleted from our files and it is highly likely that the horse will be reassessed lower than its’ most recent rating under rules, as often the form will not have worked out leading to the rating being dropped.

“If a horse has been running in hunter chases during the season, they will have been constantly reassessed either by me or by one of my handicappers, so it will have a current handicap mark. The procedure is exactly the same for Irish horses as we give performance figures for every race run under rules in Ireland, including hunter chases.”

While Smith does reference reassessing and lowering the ratings of horses who have not run for some time under rules, that does still put them ahead of in-form point-to-pointers, as was the case last year.

“If a horse has never run under rules, including hunter chases, it will not be allocated a mark. All of these horses, with the exception of a possible wild card at Cheltenham, have equal ranking at the bottom of the elimination sequence. If the race is not filled by horses who have been allocated a mark or a wild card, then the available places will be allocated based on random ballot of the remaining entries. This is done by Weatherbys.”

Last year, one horse who would not have made the cut under the criteria for the Foxhunters, was the reigning champion point-to-pointer Anseanachai Cliste.

The winner of his eight previous starts, he had been beaten a combined 140-lengths in four hunter chase starts for connections before embarking on that winning streak between the flags. His place in the race was only secured when awarded the wild card by Smith.

No more than one horse can receive such a place using that wild card which is not automatically used each year, and Smith also provided more details on the rules surrounding the wild card:

“After reviewing all the horses who have raced under rules, including in hunter chases, I will then look at all horses that have only ever run in point-to-points. For the Cheltenham Foxhunters, I am given the option of making a wild card selection. If made, this guarantees the wild card horse a place in the race.

The wild card is for an outstanding point-to-pointer who I feel has performed to a high level during the season and deserves to take part at Cheltenham.”

Under this criterion, last season’s champion point-to-pointer, Ourmanmassini, would once again be liable to be balloted out of the Foxhunters in 2018, reliant upon gaining the wild card to guarantee his place in the race.

This due to the fact that he has a rating of just 100 over hurdles, having only won a bumper for his previous connections.

If Phil Smith and his team were to consider point-to-point form for anything other than the wild card, the fact that on his last start in December, Ourmanmassini defeated former Grade 1 winner, Gilgamboa, a horse who went on to win the hunters chase at Down Royal on St. Stephen’s Day, is surely a form line that would trump many of the horses with superior historical track form.

With the Tetretema at Gowran Park taking place just six days in advance of the Cheltenham Foxhunters this year, the connections of Irish horses now have just three opportunities on home soil to improve their prospects of avoiding the ballot, with hunter chases upcoming tomorrow at Thurles and in February at Punchestown and Fairyhouse.