Chief steward Kim Kelly has denied he has led any extraordinary 'crackdown' in judicial affairs, despite an abrupt end to Mark du Plessis' stint yesterday after he became the fifth jockey punished under the 'reasonable and permissible measures' rule.
For his ride on Fun Heroes in the final race at Sha Tin last Sunday, Du Plessis was handed a seven-day ban and what amounts to three fines of HK$25,000 each in lieu of three further riding days, since there are only eight meetings left and Du Plessis will finish up at tomorrow's meeting.
In the previous 10 seasons, stewards punished 15 rides under rule 99, the various parts of which require jockeys to take all reasonable and permissible measures to win or achieve the best possible placing.
'It is an unusually high number of offences under this rule, but every case is considered on its own merits and I can assure you it isn't part of some particular crackdown,' Kelly said. 'Between last season, my first as chief steward, and this season there has been no change to the judging standards used and I have been comfortable with the level of riding overall. There just happens to have been an increased application of this rule in what has been a busy season for us in many respects.'
Stewards found fault with Zimbabwe-born Du Plessis (pictured) over his riding in the early stages on Fun Heroes, who led for the first time in his career and overraced before wilting to run 11th to Real Specialist.
The report from yesterday's inquiry marked the 'start of the race to the 1,300 metres' as the area of concern, stating that Du Plessis rode the horse 'vigorously' to lead, contrary to its usual pattern and contrary to instructions from trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai to position the horse in midfield. As a result, the stewards concluded Fun Heroes 'was required to run at an unreasonably fast tempo between the start of the race and the 1,200m in or with the lead and then travelling strongly between the 1,200m and the 800m, when continuing to race in or with the lead.'