Horse racing: SA jockey suspended for whipping rival horse at Murray Bridge

Jockeys are often suspended for excessively whipping their own horses, but it’s not often one is caught out whipping a rival horse.

South Australian jockey Ryan Hurdle will miss 10 race meetings after stewards found him guilty of improper riding at Murray Bridge last Wednesday.

Stewards deemed Hurdle had engaged in improper riding aboard Conconi in race four, in relation to his whip use between the 150m and 100m when fighting out the finish with Allacciato, who was ridden by Eran Boyd.

In their report, stewards said that after Hurdle had made an assessment of the circumstance to his outside, he drew his whip with his right hand in the backhand position and used it in an action inconsistent with his normal use of the whip.

His whip was directed towards Allacciato to his outside, which resulted in the mare being struck in the vicinity of its head.

Ryan Hurdle struck the head of a passing horse.

The Michael Hickmott-trained Allacciato went on to win the race by half a length from Conconi.

Hurdle pleaded not guilty to the charge at the inquiry which concluded on Saturday.

In determining the penalty, stewards noted the level of force with which he used his whip was low and also took into account Hurdle’s clean record with reference to breaches of improper riding along with the need for individual and general deterrence.

The suspension will see Hurdle out of action until midnight September 23.

This article was originally published by punters.com.au and reproduced with permission