Lee's title quest could be compromised by rigid stewarding by numbers

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board is currently in the process of filling its senior stipendiary steward vacancy. Hopefully whoever gets the gig will empower raceday stewards to use their brains rather than a bean counter when it comes to the whip rules because judicious deployment of logic is currently a redundant skill in that respect.

Irish racing is on the cusp of an epic conclusion to the jockeys' title race as Billy Lee and Colin Keane duke it out. However, the fear is Lee's heroic quest has been ruinously compromised by a pernicious whip suspension that will rule him out of the final two meetings of the season.

In winning on Beleaguerment at Dundalk last Friday night, Lee was found to have struck his mount nine times, which these days triggers an inquiry as the limit is eight. Lee argued he had used the whip twice for corrective purposes when Beleaguerment veered to his left in the closing stages but the stewards' hands were tied.