Alphonse Le Grande reinstated as Cesarewitch winner after jockey wins whip appeal
Alphonse Le Grande is back as winner of last month’s Cesarewitch Handicap after an independent disciplinary panel appeal hearing overturned a finding of excessive use of the whip.
The horse, ridden by apprentice jockey Jamie Powell, crossed the finish line first at Newmarket on October 12, but was disqualified by the British Horseracing Authority committee because Powell was deemed The whip was used too many times.
BHA rules introduced last year lowered the threshold for using the whip by one to seven times in jumps and by six times in flat races, 10 of which would result in disqualification.
Powell was referred to the BHA Whip Review Committee, which qualified original runner-up Manxman and suspended him for 28 days for using the whip 10 times.
However, those associated with the horse challenged the decision and referred it to the BHA’s independent appeals committee. The independent panel found that on the tenth attempt to use the whip, there was no contact with the horse.
This meant Alphonse Le Grande regained the title, while Powell was suspended for 20 days.
Sarah Crowther, chair of the panel, said: “We feel the BHA did not satisfy us that contact occurred as Mr Powell’s arm was drawn back and the whip went across the horse’s back.”
“We found that his body position (on the tenth attempt) was different from the previous nine attacks. It appeared to us that he was a bit crouched, off-balance to the left and very low in the saddle.
“While his arms and hands are at the same angle as before, the change in body position changes the angle of the ball.
“Contact occurred when Mr Powell withdrew his whip from the attack, pulling it back to his right side. Our question is whether this constituted the use of the whip.
“Adopting a pragmatic interpretation of the word ‘use’ we find that not every contact between the whip and the horse amounts to use. It is in fact unavoidable contact that does not have any material impact on performance at all In this case, such contact does not constitute use.
“Therefore, there were nine uses, three of which were above the permitted level. The horse will be reinstated and (Powell) suspended for 20 days.”
Since the rule change, two games out of 16,000 have been disqualified.
In November, Alex Edwards became the first winner in nearly 8,000 races since the rules were introduced to be disqualified, while Poppy Wynne lost in July Swift Tuttle’s victory.
