FROM THE SHERIFF'S DESK: THE SOONER THE PROTEST OPTION IS REMOVED FROM THE WHIP RULE THE BETTER

By John Schreck | Wednesday, May 3, 2017

John Schreck, a former Chief Steward in both Sydney and Hong Kong, has seen both the colourful and the dark sides of racing. His wealth of experience and his deep knowledge of racing matters across the board is unquestioned and the reputation he built as a racing ‘lawman’ remains firmly entrenched in racing’s history. Schreck’s personal blog, ‘From the Sheriff’s Desk', appears exclusively on HRO.

So here we are, embroiled in yet another whip controversy coming out of a race at Eagle Farm on Saturday ... with the stewards very much in the firing line for the way the situation played out with the whip infringement only being acted upon after correct weight had been posted.

When Wade Birch first became Chief Steward in Brisbane I did work in Brisbane for some time and during that time there was always someone who remained in the inquiry room to view the film as the race was being run ... as happens in Hong Kong and Singapore and Sydney and most overseas countries.

In the light of what happened on Saturday, it would seem to me that role needs to be reconsidered and re-implemented in Brisbane.

The days of all stewards having to go out to various positions around the track are clearly numbered anyway. The only reason they go out on the track was when racing started they needed to be there because there weren’t any films. They had to be there to observe and make reports.

Today, particularly with videos which can be replayed instantly, things are very different. The days when stewards needed to go out to every position around the track are like lace-up boots. It’s well and truly out of fashion!

There is a clear need to refine these age old procedures and that would allow certain matters to be prioritised so that controversies, such as the one that occurred on Saturday can be avoided.

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With regard to the Eagle Farm incident, let’s look at the criticism levelled at stewards for not picking up the excessive whip rule breach as the race was being run and for not acting on it before correct weight.

If you are up in the tower watching a race you are trying to cover every runner in the race, not just the first two leaders.

You might be watching a runner towards the back who is not finding a run or a horse that might not be being pressured like you think it should be ... and there are all kinds of reasons why you might miss things in a horse race.

The fellow who says he picks up anything and everything watching a race is kidding himself and everybody else.

Things can be and are missed and that is why it is the system, such as not having a designated steward back in the room watching the race, and not necessarily any individual or group, that needs to be the focus of attention in terms of improving the situation.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is exactly why the inquiry sign is used in most overseas countries. The button is hit to put everything on hold for a few minutes and let everyone settle down, allowing stewards, connections etc to look at something that might be worth looking at or just to allow a moment to review the situation.

The reason they don’t use that in Australia is that Australians don’t like to copy overseas. We tend to think we are the best at everything so far as horse racing is concerned which is quite farcical really.

There is much we can learn from overseas and the use of the inquiry sign is one such example.

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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The rule allowing a protest against excessive whip use should not be in the rule-book. The sooner it is taken out of it the better.

The penalty for breaching that rule should rest firmly upon the shoulders of the person who broke the rule ... and nobody else.

The trainer didn’t breach the rule. The connections didn’t breach the rule and neither did the punters who bet on the horse ... but they could all end up being punished under a protest situation.

In general, a penalty imposed under the whip infringements should be a penalty that the rider will have to wear and it should of such significance that it would deter the rider from doing it again.

In Saturday’s case, was the runner-up hard done by in terms of its chance to win being compromised?

Nobody can say it was because, as we all know, measuring the effect of whip use on performance will be an impossible task until horses learn to speak.

So, I believe, there was a sense of justice in the outcome on Saturday with the result standing and the jockey being handed a penalty ... although I can understand why there is a point of controversy.

But, then again, there is only controversy because a protest option related to whip use is in the book. If that wasn’t in the book there would be no controversy at all.

The rider would be penalised and that would be the end of the story.

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It has been reported that Danny Nikolic will be riding in Kuala Lumpar this weekend.

That was interesting enough in itself.

Where it leads will be of even greater interest.

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Finally, there has been a lot of talk in the media lately about having a horse race across the Sydney harbour bridge.

If ever there is a fair, dinkum horse race across the bridge I will sell up, move to Ethiopia and look for a job.

You and I are never going to see a fair, dinkum race like that happen and so talking about it is just a waste of breath!