Horse racing: Duo fall foul of new whip rules

Fox was handed a 15-day ban at Salisbury after hitting Orthodox Lad 11 times – seven times in the final furlong – when winning a handicap by a short head. Hughes was given five days after finishing third on Swift Blade, who was adjudged to have been hit six times inside the final furlong (the limit is five) during the same race. Both jockeys will lose their percentage of prize-money and will also have to forfeit their riding fee.

Head of stewards William Nunneley, said: “I’m very disappointed we’ve had two breaches and I’m certainly disappointed with Kieren Fox as that’s not just forgetting, that’s way over the top. I was rather hoping that they would understand they have got to change the way they use the whip. It’s a behavioural thing that has got to change.

“They wanted clarity and what we had before wasn’t working – we had 850 breaches of the rule in a year. We had to try and find a way of getting them to concentrate on their riding. We’ve noticed a big difference in the way people have been riding (in the last 10 days). They have definitely been thinking about it.”

But a “hard done by” Hughes said: “I’ll have to go back to school to learn how to count. I knew exactly what I was doing and I was aware – I hit him down the neck for correction matters, nothing else. I rubbed him once before and he was leaning in, so I flicked him one down the neck, purely to keep him straight. They said you aren’t allowed to use your stick as correction and I was under the impression you were allowed to do that. If I let him bump the other horse, I’d have got two days. I feel a bit hard done by as I thought it was a corrective measure and nothing else, but they said six is six.”

Frankie Dettori had earlier admitted he was “scared” riding under the new rules, which state a Flat jockey can only hit their mount seven times – and just five times inside the final furlong. Dettori said: “That was my first ride and I must say I was very aware and very scared. I spent most of the race worrying and making sure I counted them. It will take time to adapt and I also found it very hard to distinguish if I was inside or outside the furlong marker.”

William Buick was in action at Windsor and guided Money Never Sleeps to a win in six-furlong maiden. “The penalties are very harsh so you’ve got to abide by them,” said Buick. “I’d rather finish second than get done because you can miss good rides and an awful lot of earnings.”

Neil Callan was in winning form at Yarmouth and feels he will be affected less than others. “You’ll get different opinions from different jockeys. Some people like to use the whip and some don’t,” he said. “I’ve grown up and matured that I don’t use it half as much now.