British racing’s latest attempt to impose once-and-for-all rules on use of the whip began on Monday at Catterick, Plumpton and Wolverhampton, with the hope that the fresh toughening of the regime will not generate the same controversy and negative publicity as the last line-in-the-sand moment in the autumn of 2011.
That prompted threats of an all-out strike by jockeys and led to Richard Hughes briefly handing in his riding licence in protest, while Christophe Soumillon was fined his cut of the prize fund – about £55,000 – for going one stroke over the limit of seven in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.
