'I'm not sure there will be too many violations' - Daly backs new whip rules

Last-minute changes to the whip rules announced this week by the BHA have been backed by trainer Henry Daly, who as a member of the consultation steering group has maintained the process was set up to reach the right decisions for the sport.

Daly was one of 15 members on the whip steering group that delivered 20 recommendations to the BHA board and formed the foundations for the new whip rules published in July. These included only using the whip in the backhand position and bringing in disqualification when a jockey strikes a horse four or more times over the limit for whip use.

However, following powerful complaints by jockeys and lobbying by their association, the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA), on Wednesday the BHA scrapped the backhand-only rule, lowered the threshold for how many times the whip can be used in a race, and raised penalties. A month-long bedding-in period for jump jockeys starts on Monday.