- Alphonse Le Grande pipped Manxman, a well-backed 7-1 shot, by a nose
- However, Alphonse Le Grande’s jockey appeared to use his whip 10 times
Simon Crisford has branded the fallout from the Cesarewitch a complete mess and admitted the prospect of ‘winner’ Alphonse Le Grade being disqualified has left him deflated.
Alphonse Le Grande, a 33-1 outsider trained in Ireland by Cathy O’Leary, pipped Manxman, a well-backed 7-1 shot, by a nose in one of the biggest betting flat races that is staged during the autumn. Manxman had been meticulously prepared for the assignment by Crisford and his joint-trainer son, Ed.
The sting in the tail of the race is that Liam Powell, Alphonse Le Grande’s young jockey, appeared to use his whip 10 times in the final two furlongs.
The permitted amount of strikes is six and going four above the threshold means a winning horse can be retrospectively thrown out.
The British Horseracing Authority’s Whip Review Committee meets tomorrow to discuss the contentious cases from the weekend and Alphonse Le Grande will be top of the pile to address. If found guilty, Powell will face a huge ban and the gelding will be demoted.
Simon Crisford (pictured) has branded the fallout from the Cesarewitch a complete mess
Alphonse Le Grande, a 33-1 outsider trained in Ireland by Cathy O’Leary, pipped Manxman, a well-backed 7-1 shot, by a nose
None of that, though, will provide solace to Crisford nor will it assuage any of those punters who had backed Manxman – bookmakers do not pay out for results that are reversed after the day of a race.
‘The rules are there,’ he said. ‘They’re very clear and they’re there for a good reason. Things like that shouldn’t happen, but it did and now racing has to pick up the pieces because I’d imagine there are a lot of disgruntled people out there who have either lost their money or not won it, whichever way you look at it. It’s a complete mess.
‘For the sport’s customer base – the punter – it’s totally unsatisfactory. British racing has to look after that core group because if it doesn’t they’ll go elsewhere. Something has to happen for the future, which will for sure take time, but I think people have to work on this to try to come up with a sensible plan. I feel for all of our staff. It’s left a sour taste.’
