Heathcote, Ryan hit out at Aust whip rules

The controversy over whip rules has resurfaced with trainers Robert Heathcote and Gerald Ryan slamming the regulations.

In Brisbane on Saturday, Jim Byrne fired in a protest against Jeff Lloyd saying he had overused his whip on the Heathcote-trained Doomben winner Dream Choice.

“We haven’t got long enough to discuss what I think of this farcical whip rule,” Heathcote said.

“If you uphold that I will take up greyhound training in NSW.”

The protest was dismissed and Lloyd escaped with a $300 fine but Ryan’s apprentice James Innes was not so lucky, copping a two-week ban for his winning ride on the Emma Longmire-trained Thunder Road at Randwick.

Ryan defended his charge to no avail.

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“It’s a rule I don’t agree with,” Ryan told stewards.

Innes was found guilty of using the whip five times more than permitted aboard Thunder Road in the Highway Handicap.

The ban means Innes will be sidelined for three weeks because of another suspension for careless riding at Hawkesbury on Thursday.

Chief steward Marc Van Gestel said the breach was of “some seriousness” and noted it was Innes’s fifth whip offence.

Van Gestel said Thunder Road winning the race was an aggravating factor.

Innes will start his suspensions on July 17 and can return to race riding on August 9.

Tim Clark is $400 lighter in the pocket after hitting Firebird Flyer one more time than allowed during his winning ride in the 2000m race.

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