| Damien Oliver says horse Not A Happy Camper would have won under new whip rules |
Damien Oliver has spoken out against the new whip rules being introduced next week, saying they will limit the winning chances of some horses.
The 10-time Melbourne jockeys' premiership winner took the opportunity to let his displeasure known after riding Not A Happy Camper to victory at Bendigo on Wednesday.
The new rules that come into force on December 1 restrict the number of times a jockey can use the whip to five times before the 100m mark in either a forehand or backhand manner.
They can then use it as often as they like in the final 100m.
Oliver told the owners of Not A Happy Camper it was lucky the horse was not racing next week as he doubted the mare would have won.
"With those ridiculous new whip rules, I probably wouldn't have won today because I wouldn't have been able to hit her as often as I needed to," Oliver told racing.com.
"Often, we don't hit them every stride in the last furlong if they don't need to be.
"But a restriction before that, it's going to mean the difference between a lot of horses not being able to be competitive and being able to be competitive."
Oliver says he knows that times have changed and jockeys need to change with them, but he does not believe racing officials need to pander to a minority.
"It's just ridiculous, us horsemen are being told how it should be done," he said.
Oliver landed a treble at the Bendigo meeting with his other victories coming aboard Dormeuse and Turbo Street.
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