ALMOST wherever Alphonse Le Grande has gone this season, it seems as though controversy has followed.

From the aftermath of his Northumberland Vase success in June that saw Tony Martin’s suspension extended, to the disqualification that stemmed from a whip-rule breach in last week’s Cesarewitch at Newmarket, the improving stayer has inadvertently found himself at the centre of two storms this year in Britain.

Could it be argued, though, that both cases have shone a light on shortcomings in the relevant regulatory systems?

Following Martin being sanctioned over his appearance in the Newcastle celebrations and acknowledgement of a pre-race conversation with winning rider Hollie Doyle, it was interesting to note that there were strict conditions laid out for Shark Hanlon in his IHRB referral published a month later.

Perhaps the two are completely unrelated, but the referrals committee in the Hanlon case stressed that, during the first five months of his licence withdrawal, the trainer couldn’t “knowingly participate in training-related activities or gallops… issue instructions to any jockey or other trainer as to the training or riding of any horse” or “enter or attempt to enter any weighing room, parade ring or any other area of a racecourse restricted to licensees of the IHRB”.

Had these type of terms been laid out in previous cases, like Martin’s original referral, there would have been no grey area surrounding the level of involvement a trainer can have with their yard while suspended.

It has to be hoped that change will also come on the back of the whip-rule disqualification from last Saturday’s £175,000 heritage handicap, because the process by which Alphonse Le Grande was disqualified is completely unsatisfactory and avoidable. The systems are not what they should be for punters or connections of those involved.

Adherence levels

The population of jockeys in Britain deserve plenty of credit for the fact that this is the first time a major race has seen a disqualification since the revised whip rules came into play in early 2023. Thankfully, cases like this are few and far between, albeit it must be said that jockeys across the water are paying a heavy price on a regular basis for their whip-related transgressions.

At the time these fresh sanctions were first rolled out, the standout element that caught the eye was the timing of how breaches were to be dealt with. It looked potentially problematic then, and so it has proved in a high-profile setting this past week.

The fact that penalties and possible disqualifications are not being decided on the day, but are instead being pushed out until a later date, leaves the door wide open for dissatisfying scenarios like the Alphonse Le Grande situation.

It didn’t take long on Saturday afternoon for some to pick up on Jamie Powell potentially straying into disqualification territory for his use of the whip on the 33/1 ‘winner’. Still, members of the Bet Small Win Big Syndicate ended up facing a form of purgatory, whereby they initially were celebrating in the immediate aftermath, but then had to contemplate likely being thrown out until the outcome was revealed on Tuesday. All the while, connections of the narrowly-beaten second were denied the enjoyment of a victory on the day, and - crucially - punters who backed the runner-up were left completely short-changed without any ability to collect.

Stewarding scope

So often we hear the call for greater consistency in stewarding, and the system whereby these possible breaches are referred on to an external panel to be reviewed away from the racecourse, allows plenty of time for the right decisions to be reached. When there is more time to focus on different camera angles to inspect uses of the whip, of course there ought to be considerable consistency in relation to these transgressions.

But what cost are we paying for perfect execution? On Saturday, in a high-profile setting, it felt like a significant one. Even in one of the most valuable sports in the world this season, we have seen changes in the Premier League regarding how VAR is operating, with a new term of “Referee’s Call” introduced.

As per the Premier League’s official resources this season: “The referee’s call should stand unless the VAR, based on readily available evidence, can see without doubt the on-pitch official has made a clear mistake. In the absence of that clear evidence, the referee’s call will stand”. VAR is not always perfect, but those watching soccer this season will notice that change. It represents a step away from obsessing over perfection. The powers that be have learned from past implementation and shown an ability to change. Racing should be able to do the same.

When raceday stewards are already charged with handling a wide range of complex issues at any given meeting, including the solving of often difficult interference cases, surely it would be one of their more straightforward tasks to spot if a winning rider had used his whip 10 times? There must be considerably less grey in counting strikes than is the case with balancing winning margins alongside levels of interference.

Interference comparison

Allow the stewards to decide on the disqualification on the day and everyone can move on. If a rider feels they have been unfairly treated, just like the system for interference, allow them to lodge an appeal and explore that process. Some might say that having to reverse a disqualification on appeal would be unsatisfactory, but the current system is already a bit of a farce.

At the back of it all, one wonders whether avoiding negative PR on a major raceday over a whip ban in a prominent race comes into the thinking behind the current system. So many of the moves we’ve seen surrounding the whip in recent years have been taken with those outside the industry in mind, and deferring such decisions creates the opportunity to avoid negative headlines on the day.

If a rider were to break the whip rules in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, for example, the media intensity around such a breach will be much calmer by the time it’s pushed out until the following Tuesday to be announced, than if dealt with on the day. But such delays don’t lead to satisfactory outcomes for those who are actually living and breathing the sport.

Whether it’s good news or bad news for the participants, nobody wants a mess like this lingering on for days. Jamie Powell broke the rules, plain and simple, but it must have been a horrible wait for him through a long Saturday night, Sunday and Monday before his breach was confirmed on Tuesday.

The Cesarewitch is clearly a big race, but wait until it happens in an even bigger setting.

The higher the stakes, the bigger the damage for everyone.