KEY POINTS:
Jockeys in New Zealand shouldn't need a reminder that celebratory gestures before the finish of a race will not be tolerated, says chief stipendiary steward Cameron George.
George said yesterday he was not about to line up riders again about the practice of waving the whip before the
finish.
New Zealand's leading rider Lisa Cropp raised her arm in a victory salute on the Hawke's Bay trained-mare Lilakyn, who was beaten a nose into second in the Brisbane Cup on Monday.
Queensland stipes alleged the action occurred just short of the line and suspended Cropp for three months for not riding the horse to the finish. Cropp's appeal will be held in Brisbane next Friday.
George said he had already cracked down. Jockeys throughout New Zealand were warned after a Waikato meeting at Te Rapa on February.
Top rider Leith Innes was fined $1500 for waving his whip on the way to victory aboard top filly Crossyourheart in New Zealand's richest 2-year-old race, the $500,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Classique.
George said Innes started waving his whip 40 metres from the finish and he was not impressed.
"It got beyond a joke, particularly after the Leith Innes scenario with Crossyourheart," George told NZPA. "Following that we have cracked down on everyone now.
"That was their one and only warning. Riders are aware that any celebratory gesture prior to the post and there will be a charge issue."
George said a victory salute prior to the finish was frowned upon not only because a horse might get beaten. There was also a safety factor in that riders might lose control of their mounts.
The Brisbane Cup in some way highlighted that, George said. "This is a classic example as to why we don't believe it is necessary for riders to do it prior to the line - not only from a safety perspective but in the best interests of connections."
George was not willing to comment on Cropp's suspension of three months, which is a heavy penalty.
The status of the Brisbane Cup and the A$132,000 ($150,000) difference in prizemoney between first and second were considered factors in determining a strong penalty.
* New Zealand rider Mark Du Plessis had his first Australian win when The Real Rokocoko scored a last-stride victory in the Hardy Brothers Handicap at Doomben yesterday.
- NZPA