Top jockey slams the most frustrating rule in Australian horse racing as he prepares to ride one of the leading contenders to win The Everest

Champion jockey Zac Purton has criticized the limited use of the whip in Australian racing, predicting it will make life difficult for him when he rides Everest on Saturday.

Regarded as the best set in the racing mecca of Hong Kong since leaving Australia in 2007, the 40-year-old will ride In Secret as he competes in the country’s richest horse race.

While riders in Hong Kong can use the whip whenever they want, their counterparts down under are much more restricted.

Australian racing rules can only use the whip five times in non-consecutive strides before the last 100 meters of a race. There are no restrictions on the use of the whip in the final stretch.

Zac Purton is arguably Australia’s best rider – but he has warned the whip rule used below will put him at a disadvantage on Everest on Saturday.

Champion Circle (pictured with wife Nicole) called the process of following the complex rules “extremely frustrating”.

Riders must also not use the whip in an ‘excessive, unnecessary or inappropriate manner’.

Purton says not breaking the rule will be an ‘extremely frustrating’ process for him during Everest.

“From the moment I got on the horse, that thought goes through my head – whip, whip, whip – and it’s hard when you’re in big fields, you’re running between horses, you’re trying to time your run. correctly and then you have to try to look for markers to see where you are,” he said races.

‘Then you have to try and not hit the horse too many times. It’s extremely disappointing, I have to say, it’s the hardest thing about going back there (Australia), of course.

“Instead of letting me think about the race and think about what I’m doing, obviously you don’t want to cause interference so you’re trying to keep your horse straight and all the things you have to think about, like your horse is responding.

Purton (pictured riding a winner at Randwick in 2017) has been plying his trade in Hong Kong for years as he became a top player in the world’s biggest racing city.

The 40-year-old will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Craig Williams after he rode the Giga Kick to victory on last year’s Everest (pictured)

“It’s become an important race not just in Sydney but around the world,” Purton said of Everest, which drew huge crowds at Royal Randwick last year (pictured)

“Besides, I’m thinking about the whip. Don’t hit him? Hit him once? Hit him twice? It’s really hard for me’.

Purton added that the rule puts him at a disadvantage because obeying it has become “second nature” to Australian-based circles.

Saturday’s race will be Purton’s first taste of Everest, and he is licking his lips in anticipation.

“I’ve seen Everest grow from its infancy to what it is today and I just wanted to be a part of it,” he told Sydney Morning Herald.

“We haven’t been able to travel for the last two years because of Covid and it’s a day that just jumps out at you on the telly.

“Everyone at home is talking about it. You look at the quality of the horses that run in it and the publicity it gets throughout the year.

“It’s become an important race not just in Sydney but around the world.”

Purton’s Everest ride is currently paying around $17 to win