David Ord on the Cesarewitch Handicap whip controversy at Newmarket

I didn’t get to see the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch live on Saturday.

Instead, I was helping coordinate a seventh birthday party for my daughter, overrun by screaming hordes of her friends who seemed to be running at full pelt from every angle.

Arguing to those who were ensuring that the pinata that had already been smashed to smithereens was reduced in size further still, that we should pause, fall silent, switch on the TV and watch a horse race for four minutes was an impossible one to land.

But the fact that something needs to be done to speed up the disqualification of a horse whose rider has clearly and obviously broken the whip rules shouldn’t be.

On Saturday we could have seen the nightmare scenario that when the new regulations were brought in, plenty of people pointed towards.

What happens in one of our showpiece events if a jockey breaks the limit and the horse will be disqualified – but only after the can has been kicked down the road to the Whip Review Committee a few days later?

It would never happen they said, riders knew the risks they were taking. But in the white-hot heat of a pulsating finish like Saturday’s Cesarewitch, how easy is it to distinguish between nine and ten?

We nearly saw it in the 2023 King George when Jim Crowley went three times over the limit aboard Hukum. One more strike and the winner of the very prestigious and important middle-distance prize, representing a hugely powerful owner-breeder, would have been disqualified.

Instead, Crowley picked up a 20-day ban, £10,000 fine and disaster was averted.

It might be in the Cesarewitch too. Kevin Blake took to Twitter – or the artist formerly known thereas – on Saturday evening to ask whether Jamie Powell’s tenth and final hit had in fact made contact with Alphonse Le Grande.

But surely the raceday stewards, with all the technology at their disposal, could make that call then and there. Stage an enquiry and make a decision. It doesn’t matter if it takes all afternoon.

The BHA released a statement on Sunday that included the line: "There have been several cases already since the new rules were implemented whereby a ride was referred and carried a potential disqualification but the Whip Review Committee did not reach this outcome."

That might be the case in some borderline instances. But what if the rider admits their guilt on the afternoon, holds their hands up faced by the evidence before them. Even then we'd be waiting 48 hours for the final decision.

And let’s work on the principle that the winner is thrown out. Who are the losers?

The connections of Alphonse Le Grande see their prize-money disappear and photos with the trophy removed from the walls, but any winning bets stand.

Manxman's connections, irked not to get the race on the day, will belatedly see their Weatherbys account swelled by £90,195 and the trophy ferried to a mantelpiece of their choice by the weekend.

But any punters who were on the well-backed 7/1 runner-up, will not see a penny from their winning bets return to their pockets.

And that’s plainly wrong, as Simon Crisford himself said on Sunday, telling the Racing Post: “For the sport's customer base, the punter, it's totally unsatisfactory.

"British racing has to look after that core group because if it doesn't they'll go elsewhere. Something has to happen for the future, which will for sure take time, but I think people have to work on this to try to come up with a sensible plan. In this modern age of technology, every other sport has a video referee and everything is handled quickly.

“I know it's highly complex with racing and disqualification on the day would bring its own set of problems, but where there's a will there's a way. The solution might not come to hand right away but this is a lesson for the sport to learn from."

And this incident comes at a time when betting on horse racing is in decline.

It can’t be left to any goodwill gestures from bookmakers to paper over these cracks. These rules were brought in last year and like or loathe them, they’re seemingly here to stay.

But this wait and two-tier approach to a race result can't continue. If you had £20 on Manxman it will be of little comfort the next time you're at HQ to see the Cesarewitch roll of honour contains his name.

Football, rugby, cricket, tennis, and countless other sports all rely on technology to make big, quick and crucial decisions on a regular basis.

In racing when it comes to the whip, it's used to see if there's a potential case to answer. With money involved, that's not good enough for a modern sporting or punting audience.

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