Hughes to hand in licence

Richard Hughes
12 April 2012

Richard Hughes has pledged to relinquish his riding licence with immediate effect until there is a review of the British Horseracing Authority's new whip rules after picking up another ban at Kempton on Thursday evening.

The Irishman was given a five-day suspension on the first afternoon the rules were put into effect on Monday, and he got another 10 at Kempton when finishing a neck second on More Than Words in the Play Rainbow Riches At bluesq.com Maiden Fillies' Stakes.

The severity of the punishment was due to the fact it was his second offence. Hughes gave up a ride later on, and must sit out October 29-31, November 1-5 and 9-10, meaning he will miss Strong Suit in the Breeders' Cup. He told Racing UK: "I've handed my licence in until further notice."

He added: "I've been trying to obey the rules this week and when the rules came in we all thought seven was a fair number, but then they set a trap by saying you could only hit them five in the last furlong.

"The new rules mean you actually hit them more, as you have to get two into them before the furlong pole and then you have five for the final furlong. I was always told as a young lad the last jockey to go for stick usually wins. I don't think I can do my owners justice any more.

"It's my own decision. I gave her (More Than Words) a couple of slaps when she needed them but I am not a whip jockey. Both times I've been done I've hit them six times. I've got a 15-day ban because of it and I miss the Breeders' Cup. What about the owner of Strong Suit - he's a tricky horse and you have to know how to ride him.

"They (his colleagues) are bitterly disappointed, and it's only a matter of time before they get done.

"How many times have you seen AP McCoy win races he should never have won, by persevering and getting them rolling?

"Until the rules are resolved I won't be riding. I'd rather retire. I can't ride horses like this. It's like telling Lionel Messi he can't use his left foot."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in