With just over a month till the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, many big names in the sport, including AP McCoy, are expressing their concern that the newly introduced BHA whip rules will have a huge impact on the biggest jumps meeting of the season.
- McCoy and Johnson worried about new whip rules at Cheltenham
- Irish jockeys at Cheltenham won’t have any time to try out new rules
- Avoid the grey areas to solve the whip row, says McCoy
- Willie Mullins – timing is bad just before the Cheltenham Festival
Former Champion Jockeys AP McCoy and Richard Johnson Worried For The Cheltenham Festival
20-time former champion jockey, Anthony McCoy, is worried the new whip rules, that include jockeys not being able to use their stick overhead height, will have a big impact on results at the up-coming Cheltenham Festival in March.
The big four-day meeting at Prestbury Park gets going on Tuesday 14th March, but the new ‘overhead’ whip rules come into play on Monday 13th February – only a month before the tapes go up at Cheltenham.
Retired jockey Richard Johnson has also joined McCoy with the concern – saying that with not much time to get used to the new rules the jockeys may struggle to cope in the heat of the battle – especially with so much at stake at the Festival.
“We don’t want to see the whip as the main point of conversation in the papers and on TV,” said Johnson to the Racing Post. “We never do, but especially not on Cheltenham week. We should be talking about the great performances from horses, jockeys and trainers, and I’m hoping the whip doesn’t take centre stage.”
Irish Jockeys Likely to Have First Taste Of New Whip Rules at The Festival
Johnson also pointed out that the big army of Irish jockeys coming over would be having their first taster of the new rules at the Festival and fears this is going to have a huge impact if the rules are to be followed through.
“The timing surprised me a bit, but I know there’s no perfect time,” he said. “I think it’s going to be especially difficult for the Irish jockeys, as they haven’t had that bedding-in period.
“It’s going to be a shock for a lot of the Irish jockeys and even for the British ones, who will be fighting a habit they’ve had for 15 or 20 years in some cases. It’s going to be hard for people to adhere to the new enforcement of where your arm is allowed to come.”
Avoid The ‘Grey Areas’ Is the Only Way To Solve The Whip Issue, Says McCoy
Tony McCoy is also in agreement with Johnson, regarding the timing of these new rules before Cheltenham, while he’s also stated that one of the only ways to solve the ongoing ‘whip issue’ is to just have a set figure of hits and if a jockey goes over it – they are disqualified – simple!
The former champion goes on to state that this is the only way to take out the ‘grey areas’ surrounding the rules and avoid people on social media crabbing and criticising the sport.
McCoy told the Racing Post “If you’re going into a Cheltenham Gold Cup or a Derby, you’re going to think ‘Ah, it’s the Gold Cup’ or ‘Ah, it’s the Derby; I’m going one more’, and you’re going to do it all the time because the rule is breakable. Once the rule is breakable, you’re giving the opportunity to let people talk about it and, therefore, it’ll never go away until it’s unbreakable.
“The sport needs to get on the front foot and get in a position where the rule is unbreakable. That will be the end of it and it will be never spoken about again. There will be no grey area and everyone will know the rules – it will be simple and we’ll forget about it.”
Willie Mullins Has Also Called for The New Whip Rules To Be Delayed
Willie Mullins, who is the most-winning trainer at the Cheltenham Festival with 88 past successes, has also waded into to the new whip row. Not to say it shouldn’t happen, but just the timing of introducing it – just weeks before the 2023 Cheltenham Festival. As he said, it’s like changing the rules at the football World Cup during the event.
Mullins would much rather see the new rules introduced after Cheltenham and the big Aintree Grand National Meeting in April – and start afresh next season.
“Why do they always bring up this before Cheltenham? It should be done after Cheltenham during the off-season. It’s like bringing in new rules before the semi-finals and final of the World Cup in soccer.
RELATED: Willie Mullins Cheltenham Festival Runners Update After Dublin Racing Festival
What Are The New Jumps Whips Rules?
- In the backhand position
- Can’t use above shoulder height
- Jump jockeys can use the whip a maximum of 8 times
- Jump jockey will be disqualified of using 12+ times
- In major races (over £20k) a jockey could also be banned for 28 days
- Some leeway may be allowed if riders deemed to be using the whip for safety reasons or down the shoulder with both hands on the reins
- Jump jockeys to use the ‘padded’ longer whip
The New Whip Rules Explained by AtTheRaces
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