A Cheltenham Festival-winning jump jockey made unwanted history on Tuesday when his use of the whip on a winning ride led to his horse being disqualified.
Alex Edwards rode the Pam Sly-trained Mixedwave to win a handicap chase at Market Rasen on November 23 last week. The 4-1 chance made virtually all the running under the 33-year-old to defeat Post Chaise by a short head at the end of the 3m race.
But Edwards’s winning ride was referred to the BHA's Whip Review Committee for further examination because he had breached the whip rules.
The panel found he used his whip nine times above the permitted level of seven strokes and without giving his mount time to respond, from approaching the third last fence.
It concluded: “Taking into account that Edwards had used his whip more than four times above the permitted level, Mixedwave was disqualified under and the placings revised.”
Post Chaise was promoted to first place and Edwards was suspended for 24 days, from December 12 to 23 December, and from December 26 until January 6 2024.
Edwards, who won the Foxhunters Chase at Cheltenham in 2019 as an amateur, was ordered to spend one of the days receiving specialised coaching, and also lost his riding fee.
The BHA said it was the first time a whip breach has resulted in a disqualification from first place since new rules were introduced at the start of the year from 7,903 races.
A BHA spokesperson said: “Disqualification was introduced as the ultimate deterrent for overuse of the whip and there can be no excuse for exceeding the permitted level by nine uses
“As well as extensive consultation and communication, jockeys were required to undertake online training modules which clearly set out the new rules prior to riding under them.
“The wide-ranging understanding of what may trigger a disqualification, and the steps taken by jockeys to adapt well to the new rules, is demonstrated by the fact that this is the first time in almost 8,000 races that the rule has been invoked following a winning ride.”