'It's scary and something that really worries me' - Gordon Elliott voices concern over whip rules

Gordon Elliott fears the sport could lose owners because of the new whip rules in Britain and said he is both scared and saddened by the prospect of winners being disqualified at next month's Cheltenham Festival.

In the very first week of the new whip rules Lunar Discovery was disqualified after finishing second in an Ayr bumper because jockey Charlotte Jones hit the favourite 11 times, four over the new limit in jumps races and enough to throw the horse out. There were 20 riding suspensions in the first week too with Lorcan Williams receiving the longest, an 18-day ban which has ruled him out of the Cheltenham Festival.

Elliott is on edge with just over a fortnight to go to the festival due to both the threat of disqualification and potential bans for his jockeys with April's Grand National in mind.

When asked about the new whip rules, the trainer said: "It's scary and something that really worries me. It's something that I actually lie in bed thinking about at night, that you could win a Gold Cup and then lose it the following week. That's scary."

Elliott, who has celebrated 34 festival winners and been leading trainer at the meeting on two occasions, said both the timing and the logic behind the BHA’s new whip rules baffles him.

He said: "If a ten-year-old child came up and said it to you, you'd say to them 'Are you sure?’ It's actually hard to believe it's come to this. It's like Brexit coming in. Nobody realised what was going to happen until it happened and something similar is after happening here. For the Irish lads riding at Cheltenham, it's going to be very tricky."

Elliott's main fear is for the owner, though, who could spend days celebrating a big win at Cheltenham only to have their party spoiled a week later by a panel who deem their horse has been hit too many times.

Elliott is concerned about whip bans or potential disqualification at next month's Cheltenham FestivalCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The trainer said: "My biggest worry is for the owner. If they buy a horse, pay all the training fees and fund all the other costs that go along with owning a horse and then they win a race at Cheltenham, which is our Olympics, only to have that race taken off them for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Nothing. It's just not right. We could lose owners from the game out of this."

He continued about his concerns: "I'd hate to be going back and watching a replay of a race I've won at Cheltenham and counting the strikes and wondering how many strikes there have been. Like a slap down the shoulder is considered a strike now.

"Someone very, very shrewd said to me the other day that they will be shocked if there is not a horse disqualified at Cheltenham. I didn't think Charlotte Jones did anything wrong the other day, it didn't look bad to me."

Not only is disqualification a concern for Elliott, but so too are jockey bans.

Eighteen-year-old jockey Sam Ewing is not allowed to ride in the Grand National unless he has two more winners over fences and criteria like that combined with possible widespread bans at Cheltenham has Elliott already worried about the Grand National on April 15 and finding enough jockeys who will be allowed to ride in the race.

He said: "How in this day and age has something as big as this come in a couple of weeks before Cheltenham? I don't think it's a brilliant thing to have happened anyway, but, if it came in at the start of the season, you'd live with it and say that's the way it is. But we might not have enough jockeys to ride in the Grand National the way things are going.

"Sam Ewing doesn't even qualify to ride in the National at the moment. He still needs two [more] winners over fences. That's why he's over and back to England and riding a lot of our chasers, we're trying to get him two winners so he can ride in the race.

"It could get to the stage where there won't be 40 jockeys to ride in the Grand National."

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