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The amount of times I have seen jockeys that are well clear (sometimes with double digit leads) after jumping the last and yet still picking up their whip and using it two or three times is a bit concerning.
I have literally just seen James Bowen do it on El Granjero when winning the 14:05 at Perth, he was around 8L clear jumping the last on a horse that visually wasn’t slowing down (compared to his nearest and distant rival). Hands and heels would have been equally as effective action to have taken or at the very least he could have had a quick look round after the last which would have stopped him from using the whip three more times on the run in.
Not sure if this is something that has always been going on and I am now just noticing it for the first time but given the climate and how visual perception pretty much leads the BHA thinking it would be a good thing if a quiet word could be had with the jockeys (whether it is through the PJA or by other means) to advise then to be a little more situationally aware.
Fully agree, LD.
Well, except that it should be “number” of times, not “amount”. Countable noun, you see.
That sort of whip use is worse than a jockey going one over the limit in a driving finish on a horse which is responding. A good illustration of why whip offences should be left to the discretion of the stewards, rather than being governed by an arbitrary number.
CAS – Agreed re number of strikes, it was always a slippery slope once that came into play especially in NH races.
You can easily not go above the permitted number of strikes and still give a horse a harder time than somebody who has gone over the number but used it in a more judicious way (i.e. four or five times where they have used it once or twice before putting it down and reverting to hands and heels etc).
I remember back when it came in (on the first Champions Day where Soumillon got done on Cirrus des Aigles if memory serves) they were at pains to state that if you exceeded the number of strikes it would simply trigger a Stewards Enquiry to look into the ride and not automatically result in a jockey being banned………I guess that part of the rule went out the window pretty quickly.
I still think it is a sad state of affairs to where Stewards are now clearly having to review replays specifically to count the number of strikes a jockey has and in a great number of cases where bans are handed out, if you weren’t counting, you would be hard pressed to say that a jockey has overused the whip…..obviously there are cases where you can see they have but I would imagine they are in the minority overall.
Good thread LD. I’ve seen this happen numerous times, more often in IRE and it tends to happen to more experienced riders as well. When your 10-15 lengths clear and in full command just use your hands and heels, not the whip.
CAS is right, it’s far worse than one or even two above the limit, especially when it’s a three mile race.The whip rules are a mess. I believe the situation will only be resolved by scrapping them and leaving it to the discretion of the stewards, or by banning the whip for anything other than safety and corrective purposes.
The latter is more likely to happen than the former.
Personally I don’t think using it for safety and correctional purposes only will work – we see horses hang into the whip all the time and the best course of action when a horse hangs to get him to straighten up is to put the whip down and get both hands on the reins and pull them away from the direction they are hanging to.
If they go to the discretion of the Stewards then there would need to be a centralised professional body with probably a jockey or two on the panel presiding over each case and frankly I don’t see that happening either.
All the capitulation they have done through the years means that they have backed themselves very much into a corner in that they can’t up the number of strikes permitted (they don’t have the bottle to stand up to the usual suspects who shout loudest) and they won’t go back to not having a number of strikes and I don’t think they are quite at the banning of the whip stage…….yet but that really is the most likely outcome somewhere down the line.
The reason jockeys still use the whip when they are well clear on the run in is that they are terrified their horse might stop and they get caught just before the line. If this happens the suspension they suffer if far greater than if they used the whip more times than permitted.
The rules should be changed to the effect that if a jockey puts down his whip because he thinks he is well clear there should be no punishment if he gets it wrong.
“The reason jockeys still use the whip when they are well clear on the run in is that they are…”
Allowed to.
A quick look over the shoulder or between their legs after the last would negate having to use the whip when you realise they are well clear and there is always vigorous hands and heels riding they can resort to instead, which wouldn’t incur the wrath of stewards for not riding out properly either.
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