Debate after Festival Weights Publication Discrepancies in the handicapping of Irish-trained horses have come to light in the wake of yesterday's publication of the weights for the seven handicap races at next month's Cheltenham Festival.Chief sufferer is Robert Tyner's Coral Cup contender, Camden Tanner who has been allocated a mark of 131 for the event, which is 7Ibs higher than his Irish rating of 124. Tyner described the anomaly as an ?absolute disaster'.While the majority of runners from this country will compete off the same mark, an additional four entrants will be ?wrong' at the weights. Paddy Mullins' Cregg House is the next most seriously affected, having been given a rating 5Ibs above his home mark in the Mildmay of Flete.Conversely five Irish raiders haven been given lower ratings. The Edward O'Grady trained Over The Bar stands out in this respect, having been allocated a mark of 142 (5Ibs lower than his Irish rating) in the Coral Cup.Irish handicapper Andrew Shaw defended his cross-channel counterparts, making the point that in the case of any horses with different ratings, they had British form with which to work.Meanwhile, Le Coudray will contest the Cathcart instead of the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Festival. Indeed the J P McManus owned gelding will miss the meeting altogether if the ground comes up any faster than yielding to soft, according to Frank Berry, racing manager for the owner.
