The dismissal of the objection at yesterday's races at Greyville has elicited numerous queries from the public regarding the decision made by the KZN Stipendiary Stewards board—a board composed of many experienced and seasoned professionals.

The Stipes have a simple question to answer: Could the joint second-placed horse that was interfered with have won the race?

According to the Stipes on duty, the answer was a definitive negative, and for good reason. They believed that the joint second-placed horse, Birthright, could not have won the race at any stage, interference or not. In fact, they felt that El Dante, had he run straight, would have won by a much larger margin.

What makes this case difficult or subjective is the fact that El Dante's movement across the track was pronounced; in fact, it covered almost half the width of the track. This made it visually appealing for the appeal to be upheld, but there were other considerations.

The Stipes were of the opinion that even with this movement and the clear fact that the jockey on El Dante attempted to straighten his horse (and didn’t use his crop to gain any further advantage), there was no mitigating factor to suggest that Birthright could have beaten him.

There is a suggestion that El Dante was also not fully ridden out, as the jockey was clearly trying to straighten the horse, and in doing so, could not afford his horse a full ride to the line as he would normally do. This was seen as an advantage in relation to the winning jockey.

Their arguments in this light are plausible given the rules in place in South Africa and indeed in many countries where these rules apply.

In the United States, in many states, this would not have been forgiven, as minimal contact and impeding running lines are considered interference. However, that is not the case in South Africa.

The Stipes have clearly set the tone for this level of interference, and in doing so, warn riders who take advantage of horse movement. This was not the case here. However, the Stipes are equally concerned with rider and horse safety and continually advise riders to apply immediate corrective action or be held liable for their actions.

South African Stipes are among the most highly regarded worldwide, and for good reason. They are very much aware that a high bar must be set in South Africa, as many in the world of horseracing look to the nation for positive direction in this regard.