- Shock Cesarewitch winner Alphonse Le Grande could be disqualified
- Jockey Jamie Powell appeared to use his whip 10 times throughout the race
- There is a prize fund of £175,000 and a pot of £71,103 for first place the race
Alphonse Le Grande, the shock 33-1 winner of the Cesarewitch, is in danger of being disqualified after jockey Jamie Powell appeared to use his whip 10 times.
The Cesarewitch is one of the most famous Flat handicaps and a big betting race, with a prize fund of £175,000 and a pot of £71,103 for first place. Alphonse Le Grande was already guaranteed headlines after beating Manxman by a nose in a driving finish, as he is trained by Cathy O’Leary in Ireland.
She was reluctant to speak to the media afterwards, but said Powell had given ‘a great ride’.
O’Leary is the sister of Tony Martin and running his stable while he serves a ban for breaching anti-doping rules. Martin’s suspension, which is due to expire on October 16, was extended from three to five months in July after an incident at Newcastle in June.
Martin was deemed to have shown a ‘flagrant disregard’ and brought racing into disrepute after appearing in the winner’s enclosure following Alphonso Le Grande’s win in the Northumberland Plate. He was seen to have been acting as a trainer, despite having his licence revoked.
Alphonse Le Grande, the shock 33-1 winner of the Cesarewitch, is in danger of being disqualified
Jockey Jamie Powell appeared to use his whip ten times during the race
Alphonse Le Grande, who is trained by Cathy O’Leary in Ireland, beat Manxman by a nose
He will now walk back into a storm, as Powell has been referred by Newmarket’s stewards to the British Horseracing Authority’s whip review committee after the animated nature of his riding in the final two furlongs.
Powell, who was Ireland’s champion apprentice in 2023 and is attached to Johnny Murtagh’s stable, was deemed to have gone four strikes above the threshold of six — and the excessive number means Alphonse Le Grande is almost certain to lose the race.
Only two jockeys have lost races with retrospective disqualifications — Alex Edwards, in November 2023, following a jumps race at Market Rasen, and the amateur Poppy Wynne after a ride at Doncaster in July. They were given bans of 24 days.
If found to have contravened the guidelines, Powell could be sidelined for a month.
Tony McGlone, chief steward at Newmarket, said on Saturday: ‘We can’t make the decision to disqualify him on the day, so it has been referred to London.’
