? Horse tried to run out and hung badly throughout race
? Jockey went over strikes limit on wayward filly
Having pledged to use increased discretion with jockeys over the toughened-up whip rules, the British Horseracing Authority were arguably let down by their stewards at Wolverhampton on Monday who appeared to miss an open goal when handing out a ban to a jockey whose horse was barely rideable for most of the race.
Nicky Mackay received one of the least justifiable punishments yet since the new whip rules were introduced last October when getting a 10-day suspension for his winning ride aboard Stars In Your Eyes. Having at first indicated that he was likely to take no further action, the indications on Monday night were that the rider will appeal against the ban.
The 1-2 favourite in the mile-and-a-half maiden, Stars In Your Eyes hung badly right throughout and would nearly have ended up racing through the bookmakers in front of the stands had Mackay not used his whip to try to keep her straight.
In doing so, the jockey went over the threshold of seven strikes and collected the suspension, but the BHA are sure to come under pressure to explain how Mackay's use of the whip should not have been seen as a corrective measure. Stars In Your Eyes began hanging violently to the left almost as soon as she came out of the starting stalls.
"I feel there was nothing more I could do," he said. "Obviously I have hit the horse 10 times but I thought I was in danger of going through the fence or something more serious happening. I don't know how serious it has to get for them to let you off. Do you have to go through the fence? I said [to the stewards] I was using my whip to correct my filly.
"Obviously you want to win, but when you get in a situation like that, safety comes first. They haven't looked at that, I don't think."
Stipendiary steward Simon Cowley defended the decision to ban Mackay, explaining that they had used discretion to exclude one of his hits with the whip, thereby reducing his ban from a possible 14 days.
"The problem is the use of the whip didn't stop the filly from drifting," he said. "They were difficult circumstances but if the whip isn't working we like jockeys to do something else. We did use some discretion and reduced the whip tally by one but the penalty is five days, and because it's his second offence within 12 months, it is doubled."
Critics of the whip rules quickly lined up on Twitter to attack the decision. At The Races broadcaster Matt Chapman described the decision as "the last straw" and accused the stewards of "bringing racing into disrepute".
Newly appointed Professional Jockeys Association chief executive Paul Struthers commented: "I will be speaking to Nicky about it as soon as possible."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/feb/13/nicky-mackay-ban-whip-rules-wolverhampton
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