A TOP jockey who had just won a race has been banned and fined £2,765 for ‘making a mockery of whip rules’.
Tommy Berry admitted there was no excuse for breaching racing’s strict whip rules on his winning ride aboard Mo’unga.
The 30-year-old rider, who has won more than £56million on the track, struck his mount 12 times prior to the final 100m of a race.
That is seven more than permitted under whip rules in Australia.
Rival jockey James McDonald was also hauled before chiefs following the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas in Sydney on Saturday.
McDonald, who was on runner-up Sky Lab, was deemed to have hit the horse nine times before the final 100m.
Stewards initially thought he had struck his ride ten times, but the jockey told them he pulled out of the final whip because he knew he was approaching the 100m mark.
Both jockeys pleaded guilty to breaking whip rules.
One Australian publication said the extent to which both riders hit the horses showed they had ‘made a mockery’ of the rules.
Berry was given a two-week ban and hit with the fine, while McDonald was also told to hand over £2,213 as punishment.
It was a day of mixed fortunes for Berry, who also won his third Golden Slipper, a race worth just under £2m and one of Australia’s biggest.
Berry was first on Stay Inside, the superstar two-year-old trained by Richard and Michael Freedman.
He had previously won the race on Overreach in 2013 and Vancouver in 2015.
Berry said after the win: “I have a knack of finding good two-year-olds and trainers that can train them as well.”
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