Crowley suspended for three weeks and penalized with a £10,000 fine following Hukum race
Jim Crowley Faces Ban and Fine Following King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes Victory
In a surprising turn of events, renowned jockey Jim Crowley has been handed a hefty ban of 20 days accompanied by a fine amounting to £10,000. This comes after his remarkable triumph aboard Hukum in the prestigious King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes held at Ascot on Saturday.
The controversy arose during the thrilling duel between Crowley and fellow rider Rob Hornby, who guided Westover to second place. Both riders were referred to the British Horseracing Authority’s Whip Review Committee due to their intense battle towards the finish line.
Hukum emerged victorious by merely a head, but it was Jim Crowley’s use of the whip that caught attention. Flat riders are usually permitted to strike their horses with the whip up to six times in a race. However, exceeding this limit results in penalties: four-day suspension for one extra strike and seven-day suspension for two additional strikes.
Crowley went beyond expectations and utilized his whip nine times during this crucial race – an offense that carries a ten-day ban which is then doubled for class one races such as this one. Had he exceeded only four strikes over the limit, Hukum would have faced disqualification from winning.
This unfortunate outcome means that Jim Crowley will be unable to participate in racing from August 15th through August 21st as well as from August 23rd until September 4th. Consequently, he will miss the highly anticipated Ebor meeting at York, where he was set to ride Mostahdaf – the impressive winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. Furthermore, his fine is particularly substantial due to the prominence and value of this remarkable race.
Interestingly, just one day prior to this incident, there were modifications made by the British Horseracing Authority on whip rules following a six-month review period. These changes would not have affected Crowley’s punishment given the severity of his offense; however, they did prove beneficial for Rob Hornby.
Hornby had exceeded the permitted whip limit only once but since he has participated in over 200 races without any previous whip-related offenses, his initial ban was reduced to two days. Nevertheless, when considering that it occurred in a high-caliber race like this one, his suspension ends up doubled resulting in four days out of action (August 15th-18th inclusive).
Prior to these revised rules being implemented just hours earlier or if circumstances remained unchanged otherwise, Hornby would have faced an eight-day suspension .