Connections of Alphonse Le Grande have successfully appealed against his disqualification from first place in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket last month, resulting in his reinstatement as the winner.
Apprentice jockey Jamie Powell was initially deemed to have used his whip 10 times in the closing stages, four more than the permitted allowance. Consequently, the Whip Review Committee awarded the historic handicap to the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Manxman, who had been beaten by a nose.
However, trainer Cathy O’Leary and owners the Bet Small Win Big Syndicate, along with Powell himself, appealed the decision, which led to a 28-day suspension for Powell. An independent British Horseracing Authority disciplinary panel concluded that one of Powell’s strikes was not intentional, as he made contact with the horse while moving his whip from one hand to the other.
Panel chair Sarah Crowther KC stated: “We find that his body position was different to the first nine strikes, it seems to us that he was somewhat crouched and off balance to his left and very low in the saddle.” She continued: “Adopting a pragmatic interpretation of the word ‘use’ in context of the rules as a whole and from our experience of panel of racing, we find it is not every single contact between a whip and a horse that will amount to a use.”
The panel ultimately found that there were nine uses of the whip, three above the permitted level, and reinstated Alphonse Le Grande as the winner, with Powell’s suspension reduced to 20 days.
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