Pearl rated better than Best

Florida Pearl is rated 1lb superior to Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate in the Anglo-Irish National Hunt classifications.

Willie Mullins`s Pertemps King George VI Chase and Martell Cup winner is put on 171 by the handicappers in both countries when assessed over three miles. He did beat Best Mate at Kempton on Boxing Day.

But Best Mate, who had an under-par Florida Pearl back in 11th at Cheltenham, comes out superior on a mark of 169 at two and a half miles.

Flagship Uberalles, winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, not surprisingly is on the same mark at the head of the two-mile category.

The handicappers from both countries classified the best chasers and hurdlers trained in either country and included French-trained horses where their performances in Britain or Ireland merited inclusion.

However, the officials stress that their findings are not a handicap, but a retrospective measurement of performances last season and they may not reflect the actual or current handicap ratings.

Dealing with the novice chasers, Barton (Tim Easterby) and the French-bred Royal Auclair (Martin Pipe) come out on top over three miles and two and a half miles on marks of 153 and 152 respectively.

However, the Irish Independent Arkle Trophy winner Moscow Flyer (Jessica Harrington) achieved a rating of 159 in the category for two miles which reflects his smooth transition to the larger obstacles last term.

The ill-fated Valiramix would have won the Smurfit Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham had he survived that race in the view of the officials as they put him on 170, 10lb ahead of the winner Hors La Loi III and three-time victor Istabraq.

Stepping up in trip from two miles to two and a half plus, the French trained Baracouda also reigns supreme on a mark of 170 with the Irish pair Bannow Bay (163) and Limestone Lad (161) next.

Dealing with the novice hurdle division Intersky Falcon from the Jonjo O`Neill stable is best over two miles on a mark of 155, followed by Polar Red (148) and both Davenport Milenium and In Contrast (on the 147 mark).

Moving up to two and a half miles plus, the officials were unable to split the Royal & SunAlliance Novices` Hurdle scorer Galileo (Tom George) and another ill-fated performer Rouble on 150 with Keen Leader just 1lb adrift on 149.