'You can't shout stop from the stands' - French racing reacts to first whip disqualification

French racing was on Monday wrestling with a first controversy under its new whip rules, after Garry De La Brunie was disqualified having finished first past the post at Auteuil on Saturday.

Johnny Charron thus earned an unwanted piece of history by becoming the first jockey to lose a race in front of the stewards for breaking the whip rules, having been found to have struck Garry De La Brunie nine times, which is five over the limit introduced on May 1.

Since September 1, nine has also been the number which automatically triggers disqualification, a sanction imposed before the weighed-in signal is given and therefore alters the result before bettors are paid out.