Two more riders banned as ‘cloud hangs over weighing room’

JOCKEYS Sophie Doyle and Antioco Murgia became the latest to be found in breach of the new whip regulations at Haydock yesterday.

Doyle was handed an 11-day ban for her ride on Opus Maximus, who finished fourth in division two of the Betfred Handicap. She was found to have used her whip with excessive frequency and was suspended for 11 days.

Apprentice Murgia was riding My Destination in the TRC Maiden for Mahmood Al Zarooni and got a good late run out of his charge, just failing to reel in hot favourite Beyond Conceit. However, the stewards ruled that Murgia had used his whip with excessive frequency and suspended him for five days.

Champion jockey Paul Hanagan feels there is a “cloud” hanging over the weighing room as the argument over the new whip regulations rumbles on.

Hanagan feels sympathy for colleague Hughes, who relinquished his licence last night after picking up a second ban in a matter of days, and says that the punishment does not fit the crime. Writing on his blog, Hanagan, who pipped Hughes in a monumental tussle for the championship last season, admits he is finding it difficult to adapt.

“Make no mistake, there will hardly be a jockey with a licence who won’t have sympathy with Richard Hughes,” said Hanagan. “I can assure you that in all the time I’ve been riding the atmosphere in the weighing room has never been so bad, there’s a cloud hanging over it. My view on the penalties is that they just don’t fit the crime. In the heat of a race, especially a big one, there are plenty of other things to think about as well as the number of times you’ve used the whip. I’ve been practising since before it came out and I do find it difficult.”

Champion National Hunt trainer Paul Nicholls believes it could be time for the BHA to suspend the new regulations until all parties can agree on suitable guidelines and penalties.

The trainer said: “We, in racing, fully appreciate that we have a wider responsibility now and that the days of “win at all costs” should be banished to the past. But when jockeys relate that they would rather err on the side of caution and finish second, rather than risk a ban going for the win, what sort of message is that sending to punters?”