Patrick Mullins: new rules will cause problems for Irish jockeys at Cheltenham

Britain's new whip rules are likely to cause problems for Irish-based jockeys at the Cheltenham Festival, according to Patrick Mullins, speaking after the BHA decided its new regime should come into force early next year.

A bedding-in period, during which jump jockeys will be asked to ride within the rules but will not be subjected to the new penalty framework, will begin on January 9, followed by the rules coming into full force on February 6.

From that point, jockeys will spend just five weeks living with the new rules before the festival starts on March 14. Mullins pointed out that the problem of adjustment is much greater for jockeys based in Ireland, many of whom will ride under the new rules for the first time on day one of the festival, in the full glare of public and media interest and under the pressure of the sport's biggest occasion.