James Doyle to work on use of whip after five bans in past six months
By Andy Stephens
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
James Doyle rode a Group Two double at Newmarket on Thursday and then revealed to Racinguk.com that he will work on his use of his whip after picking up a 15-day ban under the totting up procedure earlier in the day.
Five of those days have been deferred for six weeks and the Godolphin rider will serve only a ten-day suspension provided he does not transgress again during that time.
The 29-year-old said the punishment, which will run between July 21-30 and rules him out of the King George meeting at Ascot, was very fair. He was relieved that he will be free to ride at Glorious Goodwood.
Doyle stole the big-race honours on day one of the July meeting aboard Hawkbill, who outbattled stablemate Frontiersman in the Princess Of Wales's Arqana Racing Club Stakes, and the Mark Johnston-trained Cardsharp, game winner of the Arqana July Stakes.
Sheikh Mohammed, the Godolphin founder, was present and the victories were a timely reminder of the jockey’s talents when he continues to be overlooked by Saeed Bin Suroor.
However, Doyle has been guilty of breaking the whip rules five times in the past six months and as a consequence was referred to the BHA after the Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday for being a serial offender.
He has transgressed three times in Group One races in the past month - twice aboard Barney Roy (in victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes and defeat in the Eclipse) and also on Big Orange when winning the Gold Cup by a nose from Order Of St George.
“It does not matter whether it is Windsor on a Monday night or in the Eclipse - the rules are there for a reason so you have to respect them,” Doyle said.
“When I came back from Australia [where the rules are more lenient] I picked up two whip bans quite quickly and I struggled to adjust. It is definitely something I need to work on.
“The ban I received is 100 per cent fair. I had a very fair panel and cannot complain at all.”
As a general rule, jockeys in Flat races can strike horses a maximum of seven occasions in a race, although the horse also has to have time to respond.
Use of the persuader has been back in the headlines in recent days but Doyle put his breaches into perspective.
“Five bans inside six months sounds a lot worse than it is,” he said. “I had five individual hits behind the saddle out of 180 rides that has caused this, when my strike-rate has been 19 per cent and [I’ve been] in the money quite a lot of times.
“It’s quite minimal in the grand scheme of things but it’s fair. At this stage of the season it’s frustrating to be on the sidelines but it will be nice to be back at Goodwood.”
Doyle can expect to be in demand on the Downs and, if nothing else, will go there refreshed - not that he looked to be suffering from any sort of fatigue on the July Course.
Hawkbill is a horse who can beat himself with his tendency to race too keenly - as he did on his previous start in France - but he settled beautifully in front for Doyle and dug deep when Frontiersman looked like gliding past late in the scene.
“I just let him bounce out and enjoy himself,” the winning rider said, with a degree of modesty. “He’s tough and gives 100 per cent in his races. He knuckled down well when Frontiersman came to him.”
Earlier, Cardsharp had kept on resolutely to win the feature race for two-year-olds from the Aidan O’Brien-trained US Navy Flag. The form looks solid with Rajasinghe, the Coventry winner, in third place and the heavily backed Invincible Army in fourth.
“He felt a different horse today to when I rode him in the Norfolk [at Royal Ascot last month]. He travelled much smoother and when I gave him a little squeeze around the three marker he came alive underneath me so I could sit for a little bit longer before I asked him for his effort.”
The one disappointment for Doyle was Atty Persse, an impressive winner at Royal Ascot who trailed home last in the Bahrain Trophy Stakes after being sent off 11-4 favourite.
“Everything went to plan up until between the four and three marker when the race started to develop,” he said. “I asked him to creep a bit closer and I knew I was in trouble.
“We are scratching our heads a little bit but he had a tough race at Ascot and perhaps that left a mark. He tries very hard and is tough so I’d draw a line through it.”
Victory went to Raheen House, who was providing Jamie Spencer with just a third win from 95 rides on the July Course in the past five years. The Brian Meehan-trained colt will be aimed at the William Hill St Leger, for which he is a general 16-1.
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