Vet on receiving end as whipping becomes frenzied
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday September 15, 2009
THE fraught debate over whipping race horses was beginning to read like farce: a vet had himself whipped to prove it hurt; winning jockeys were suspended and fined for flogging their mounts too often, and yet owners of the allegedly abused animals kept the prizemoney.It had become so absurd, some feared, that the winners of big races such as the Melbourne Cup might have to be decided in courtrooms, not on the race track.But last night, jockeys €“ who had been threatening further strike action €“ emerged from "fruitful" talks with the Australian Racing Board, which suggests they may be allowed discretion to use the whip as they see fit in the final 100 metres of a race.A potent symbol of the dispute had been a photo-finish at Randwick last month, when the favourite in the Silver Shadow Stakes, Melito, was beaten by a horse that was overwhipped under the ARB's new rules.Daniel Ganderton, the winning apprentice jockey, struck his filly, Deer Valley, with the padded whip on four consecutive strides, then again on five consecutive strides, in the race's last 200 metres. Under rules imposed since August 1, riders are restricted to whipping on three consecutive strides, then must pause between strikes to allow a response.Ganderton pleaded guilty and admitted his "laid-back" horse would not have won without the extra whipping. But while he was suspended and lost his share of the prizemoney, the owners were not punished. Their victory stood.John Rippon, the principal of the Reavill Farm syndicate that owns Melito, told the Herald: "That was not fair to us and it was not fair to the punters who backed the favourite."Mr Rippon emailed the chairman of stewards at Racing NSW, Ray Murrihy, asking if there was any provision to reverse the result €“ "as there would be for a positive swabbing". Mr Murrihy responded that the rules "deliberately" precluded the right to a protest because that would leave stewards with the task of deciding "whether one or two strokes with the whip was the difference between a horse winning or losing".Mr Rippon, like most in the industry, was no fan of the whip rule. Nor was his jockey on Melito, Corey Brown, who had been penalised for breaches in other races. Mr Rippon agreed with the jockeys' one demand in the dispute: as long as they are in contention to win a race, they should be allowed to use the whip as often as they deem necessary in the "dangerous" last 100 metres, when they argue they need the whip to control their horses. "But," Rippon said yesterday, "while we are stuck with this silly rule, there has to be some punishment for breaking it."Otherwise, owners would encourage jockeys to go on breaking the rule by guaranteeing to pay their penalties. John Singleton, for one, had said he would tell jockeys: "Don't worry about your fine. I'll pay you double the fee €“ just win the race."Much more was at stake. A victory in a major race can increase a horse's stud value by millions. If the stewards would not overturn an unfair result, syndicates might have sought redress in the courts €“ as might gamblers whose "sure things" were beaten because rival jockeys overused the whip.Mr Murrihy's email said: "Those who subscribe to the view that the padded whip is the accelerator would obviously support a protest provision. However, the clear trend for the best riders in the world is less whip and more upper body strength [to control the horse] which might support that less whip is better."The RSPCA would prefer no whips, but it welcomes the "significant" advances in animal welfare since August 1, when padded whips replaced the traditional leather whip. The society's Dr Hugh Wirth, a veterinarian who had seen the welts created by the old whips, rejects claims that the new variety cause no pain at all."I know it hurts because I've had one used on me," he said. "I got someone to belt me with a padded whip to test it. It hurt all right. Someone said, 'But you've got a different pain system to a horse.' I've been treating horses for 45 years and they are very sensitive creatures. A needle prick hurts them."But trainer Colin Little says there is a bigger concern. "I've never had a vet have to patch up a horse after a jockey bashed them. But they've had to patch plenty of mine up because the track was too hard."Sport €“ Page 38
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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