Whipping racing into shape

The Emirates Racing Authority has taken a lead from British racing in the past, and the sport's ruling body in the UAE should consider the British Horseracing Authority's decision earlier this week to conduct an overhaul of whip use in racing.

Jason Maguire was stood down for five days for his Grand National-winning ride 12 days ago for excessive use of the whip and since two horses died in that race British racing has been searching its soul in a very public manner.

There are several compelling reasons why jockeys should not carry, what some might call, an instrument of brutality. Firstly, it is possible to ride at the highest level without one. Two years ago Luke Nolen, the Australian jockey now associated with the unbeaten superstar sprinter Black Caviar, rode Headway to victory in the Group 1 Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington in Melbourne. That he rode in the race without a whip was notable; that he won the 1,200m sprint by a nose was remarkable.

"It took a lot of hands and heels to coax her along because as soon as you hit her she'd curl up underneath you and almost stop," Nolen said.

It was the sort of ride that has seen female jockeys such as Hayley Turner in Britain, Chantal Sutherland in America, and Julie Krone before her, flourish in recent years.

Aficionados of sectional race timings will confirm that the final 200m of most thoroughbred contests is one of the slowest parts to any race due to horse fatigue and jockey tactics. Do riders therefore need to hit their mounts in the final surge and does it have any effect?

The evidence is slim. An in-depth study published earlier this year by David Evans and Paul McGreevy, professors at the University of Sydney, concluded that "under an ethical framework that considers costs paid by horses against benefits accrued by humans, these data make whipping tired horses in the name of sport very difficult to justify."

It must be noted here that horses race because they can, and because they seem to enjoy it. No horseman asks of a racehorse something that it is not able to do.

Admittedly, there is the odd rogue, such as Presvis, the Dubai Duty Free winner who, as Luca Cumani, his trainer, stated throughout this year's Dubai Carnival, does "pretty much as he likes".

There is no question of these animals being abused, either. If you ever get the privilege of seeing the stabling facilities at Meydan Racecourse, they are simply world class.

Anyone with animal welfare issues can be sure that horses are better looked after at Meydan than if they were to be left to their own devices.

The thoroughbred has been bred for the task in hand so illogical calls to ban racing by certain sections of the animal welfare campaign have 300 years of breeding history to overturn, not to mention an enormous equine population to re-house, look after and pay for.

Used in the right manner, the whip is a useful tool for a jockey to control a 500kg racehorse with a mind of its own going at 40mph.

It can be utilised in the early parts of races to focus the animal's mind on the job. The crop can be used in the correct hand to keep a horse on a racing line, which on Meydan's bends is crucial for both equine and human safety.

What's more, a jockey often does not even apply the whip, but merely levels the stick in line with the horse's vision to give the encouragement needed.

It is truly risible to suggest that a ban of the whip in racing will encourage greater attendances. Those who disagree about animals partaking in sport are unlikely to sign up for a season ticket to next year's Carnival simply because the ERA has rid the sport of riding crops.

It is an important point, because racing has been held to ransom in some countries by a wider audience, who, on a day-to-day basis, have no interest in the sport. That obviously does not mean the casual racegoer has no say in how the sport is run, rather that the sport does not have to pander to their desires.

The whip may well chivvy a thoroughbred to the sort of athletic performance that is cherished by rider, trainer, owner and the millions who have paid to witness those achievements in the flesh as well as on television.

In short, much like The Minstrel in the 1977 Epsom Derby, or Hurricane Run in the 2006 King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the whip propelled these animals to enduring greatness. But without whips, a different horse would have simply taken their places in the pantheon of racing heroes.

The Emirates Racing Authority's rules of racing state quite clearly that jockeys are punishable, in the opinion of the race stewards, in eight different ways. It is an extensive and welcome list, but one which would be better if they restricted jockeys' use of the whip further.

sports@thenational.ae