Kielan Woods determined to end whip woes

PA Sport Reporters
January 12, 2024 3:38 pm

Cheltenham Festival-winning rider handy another hefty ban.

Kielan Woods has vowed to address “a mental block” around the whip rules after incurring another hefty suspension following a British Horseracing Authority hearing on Friday.

The Cheltenham Festival-winning rider was referred to the independent disciplinary panel after he was found to have breached the whip rules for a fourth time in a six-month period.

Woods was given a 42-day suspension – nine of which were deferred – back in June and is now facing a further lengthy spell on the sidelines after being banned for 45 days.

Nine days have again been deferred for six months, meaning Woods will serve 36 days from January 20 to February 24, with the rider planning to work on his whip issues during that time.

In a statement issued through the Professional Jockeys Association, he said: “By the time I reach the end of this suspension I’ll have missed around a third of the last year through suspension and I’ve got no one to blame but myself.

“I’m going spend this time off getting to the bottom of why I seem to have a mental block when it comes to this issue and making sure whatever the issue is, I get it fixed.”

Woods is stable jockey to Ben Pauling and rode the trainer’s Cheltenham hope Tellherthename to a cosy 14-length success at Huntingdon on Friday.