Big race winner disqualified and jockey suspended for 28 days for breaking whip rules
Jamie Powell struck Alphonse Le Grande ten times, four over the limit, when driving Alphonse Le Grande to claim the Cesarewitch by a nose from Manxman, who has now been awarded the race
by Jon Lees · The MirrorThe winner of one of the most competitive handicaps of the year has been disqualified because his rider used his whip too many times.
New rules to curb whip misuse were introduced in 2023 with stiffer penalties which included disqualification as the ultimate sanction. Of the seven horses subsequently disqualified, only two horses had finished first, the offences occurring in minor races.
On Saturday 33-1 chance Alphonse Le Grande won the historic Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap, beating Manxman by a nose at the end of 2m2f. It emerged that winning jockey Jamie Powell had struck his mount ten times in the race, four more than the maximum allowed, and the horse was at risk of being thrown out.
However backers of the runner-up would miss out because the decision would be made by a separate panel of stewards at the next Whip Review Committee session, three days after the race.
The WRC reviewed the race and Powell’s evidence on Tuesday and ordered the disqualification of the Cathy O’Leary-trained Alphonse Le Grande, who forfeits the £90,000 first prize.
Powell, whose ten strokes were confirmed as having made contact with the horse, was suspended for 28 days due to the value of the race and victory was awarded to Manxman. The connections of Alphonse Le Grande have seven days to lodge an appeal.
Brant Dunshea, chief regulatory officer for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) , said: “Disqualification was introduced as a deterrent against flagrant misuse of the whip, in order to safeguard the fairness of race results and perception amongst the sport’s fans. It has since been adopted by other major racing nations.
“It sends a clear message that we do not tolerate misuse of the whip. There is simply no excuse for using the whip four times or more above the permitted level.
“It is encouraging that there have been so few instances of this being the case since the rule was introduced, with this being only the third time a winner has been disqualified for egregious overuse of the whip.”
He went on: “We understand that some customers will question why this matter cannot be resolved on raceday, especially those who backed the on-the-day runner up Manxman. However, this would present its own challenges, and the consultation process of the whip review revealed a strong preference from several key audiences that these matters should be handled away from raceday.
“The Whip Review Committee (WRC) was introduced to ensure consistency of decision-making around whip decisions. It is critical that decisions of such importance as potential disqualification are handled in a consistent manner via this process.
“This has already proved invaluable as on more than one occasion a ride has been referred to the WRC carrying potential disqualification, but subsequently one or more uses of the whip discounted by the WRC and the ride therefore not disqualified.”
Sean Davis was suspended for 14 days for hitting eighth placed finished Reverend Hubert mount eight times.
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