Irish Heritage ( Premier ) Handicaps

[fonz]

Just a quick question I was wondering about:

Why are Irish handicaps such as the Cambridgeshire or the Cesarewitch ran over different distances to the English versions ?
Surely the whole point of running those races under those names is that they would bear a resemblance to the unique conditions of those races.

 

[Desert Orchid]

Could it be that the tracks at which they're run don't have starting gates at those distances?

 

[edgt]

In the case of The Cesarewitch The Curragh's maximum distance is two miles.
The Ulster Cesarewitch used be run over 2 miles 5 furlongs at Downpatrick in the old days.