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The Handicapping Appeals Body, Mr David Cleary (Chair), Mr William Flood and Mr Anthony Byrne convened on 26 February 2026 to consider the Appeal of Mr Cormac Farrell (Trainer) in relation to the handicap mark of Calm The Jets following his win in the Group Deals Available At Dundalk Maiden at Dundalk on 10 January 2025.
The Panel considered the appeal of Mr Farrell and submissions from Mr Garry O’Gorman, IHRB Flat Handicapper.
In lodging the appeal, Mr Farrell submitted that the handicap mark of 87 given to Calm The Jets was excessive. Mr Farrell stated that the horse was given a strong ride and was extremely professional on the evening when beating nine rivals in a maiden race for three-year-olds, with the other runners all having their ratings reduced following subsequent races. Mr Farrell further submitted that if the race were assessed today, Calm The Jets’ performance would equate to a rating of approximately 75 or 76 and, having regard to the horse’s absence from the track for approximately fourteen months, he considered that a rating of 73 or 74 would be more appropriate.
In his submissions, Mr O’Gorman explained that when assigning a mark of 87 to Calm The Jets, around 7lbs is added in such cases to compensate for the fact the horse had not run at least three times and to allow for factors such as relative lack of experience and fitness. The 7 lb also reflects that, as Calm The Jets won on debut, the horse’s full level of ability had not yet been established in the same way as it would be for a defeated horse. Mr O’Gorman further stated that the mark of 87 could have been higher if the horse’s absence from the track was not taken into account.
Having considered the submissions of the appellant and the handicapper, together with the form of the race and the circumstances outlined in the appeal, the Panel determined that the appropriate rating for Calm The Jets was 84.
The Panel took the view that the appellant's case for a mark in the mid to low 70s was not one that could be sustained, given such a mark would leave horses that had run against Calm The Jets at Dundalk generally meeting him on much worse terms than they should have on the form of that race.
The appellant's statement that Calm The Jets was 'extremely professional on the evening and one could not assume that he would improve for the experience' was not a reading of the performance with which the Panel agreed. In the Panel's view, Calm The Jets showed a fair amount of inexperience. He raced freely after missing the break slightly and then ran green in front when asked questions in the straight. Calm The Jets needed several sharp reminders before he extended clear towards the line, as he gathered what was required.
It is highly likely that Calm The Jets would be more clued up on the back of that performance, though his subsequent lengthy absence perhaps casts that in some doubt.
With regard to the overall form of the race, the Panel was of the view that, as a whole, it had not proved strong. The Panel noted that the handicapper's current view of the form of the race was 2lb lower than their initial assessment. Only one runner from the race has shown itself notably better than its performance on the day.
The Panel took note of the background to the appeal, particularly the lack of opportunities in non-handicaps in the early part of the turf season available to a horse with Calm The Jets' profile. This may have been a factor in the handicapper's choosing to allot a mark to a once-raced horse, an uncommon but not unique decision. This, however, does not have a bearing on the mark allotted once the handicapper has made that decision, rather than to decline to allot a mark, a decision that was open to him.
The handicapper had Calm The Jets on a current mark of 87. The handicapper explained the practice of adding around 7 lb over and above the literal race rating when allotting a mark to a horse that has won on debut, in order to reflect the uncertainty as to the horse’s full level of ability at that stage.
The Panel noted that the race performance had initially been assessed by the handicapper at 83+. Calm The Jets was subsequently allotted a handicap mark of 87 following the decision to handicap the horse, reflecting the additional allowance applied to debut winners where the horse’s level of ability had not yet been established. The handicapper’s current view of the race performance is 81+. Having considered this position, the Panel concluded that a reduction of 2 lb to the handicap mark was appropriate.
The Panel also considered the appellant’s submission that further account ought to have been taken of the horse’s absence from the track for over a year. The handicapper stated in his submission that “we could have gone higher but we took some account of Calm The Jets’ absence from the track”. The Panel considered that this factor warranted further allowance above the 2lb reduction already made and therefore reduced the handicap mark from 87 to 84.