Matt Chapman: Champion jockey Brian Hughes ‘shaken to bits’ by new whip rules – and Donald McCain calls for action

GRAND National-winning trainer Donald McCain believes champion jumps jockey Brian Hughes is “shaken to bits” by new whip rules thrust on some of the best riders in the world.

McCain spoke to me at Doncaster on Saturday after he had teamed up with Hughes to land a thrilling success with Maximilian in the Grade 2 Albert Bartlett River Don Novices’ Hurdle.

Donald McCain voiced his concerns over new whip rules to our man Chappers

But while enjoying his success, the man who sent out Ballabriggs to land the 2011 Grand National was clearly upset by the stewards’ treatment of Hughes since a bedding-in period of the new whip rules had begun earlier this month.

A passionate McCain told me: “Every single time I’m turning up in the weighing room between races, before and after, both Brian and Sean Quinlan pretty much are going in or coming out of the stewards’ room.

“These are the two stand out riders in the North of England – you could set your watch by them. They are the marker.

“Brian has had very few whip bans in his career. This is a man who prides himself on never doing it wrong and always being in control of what he does. 

“We’ve never had a conversation about it, but I can see he’s absolutely shaken to bits by this at the moment. He doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.”

Although the BHA has done a U-turn on banning jockeys from using their whip in the forehand position, under new rules, which come into play on February 13, the thresholds will now be reduced to a maximum of six times in a Flat race and seven times in a jumps race.

This is down from seven and eight times respectively.

Penalties for use above the permitted level, and misuse offences, such as using the whip above shoulder height, without giving the horse time to respond or in the incorrect place have, in most instances, been significantly increased.

For example, using the whip with excessive force will carry a minimum five-day ban (doubled in Class 1 and 2 races), up from the three-day minimum outlined previously.

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The full package of measures announced in November included introducing disqualification as a penalty for the most serious breaches, plus a new whip referral committee responsible for “evaluation of all rides and any necessary sanction or action”.

McCain continued: “We joke Brian can’t use the whip, which of course he can, but he does it all in a controlled manner.

“Every time he comes in now he’s watching, he’s counting, he’s panicking. We’ve just had a big winner and he’s worried about a ban.

“The point is Brian is not a ‘whip’ jockey. I understand there has to be education and I understand the kids coming through have to be taught how to do it properly.

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“Jockeys like Brian are the people they should be studying. But they are the people stood outside the stewards room all day.

“I saw Sean Quinlan at Wetherby the other day, he’s a happy-go-lucky fella, and they are all absolutely fried by it all.

“They are trying to do their jobs properly, trying to ride winners, and they are not butchers or stick jockeys.

“Brian is not one in a million years and they come back bouncing when Brian rides them. If they can’t win he saves them for another day.”

Stewards now intend to ban any jockey marking a horse, even if they have ridden within the new rules.

McCain continued: “Marking horses depends on so many things. At certain times of the year, for instance when a horse has been freshly clipped or in certain weather, you can mark a horse very easily.

“You could mark a horse with your hand or a riding boot. Some horses are thinner skinned than others – it’s not something a jockey can tell on its back.

“But the main issue is the arm height thing. If there is a number then so be it, but why does their need to be anything else?

“The jockeys are not committing offences – it’s technicalities they are banning them for. And it’s the most stylish jockeys who are getting punished.

“The ones that sit up like farmers are not going to bring it up over the shoulder. The best in the business are getting punished on a daily basis. For doing their jobs properly.”

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