DYLAN KITTS found himself on the receiving end of the Warwick stewards’ wrath on Saturday when he was banned for 14 days.
But trainer Warren Greatrex has defended the young conditional, disagreeing and claiming the rider showed maturity in the way he rode.
Warren Greatrex defended his conditional jockey’s Saturday ride
Kitts was aboard Jet Of Dreams, a five-year-old who had run twice over hurdles in his short career to date.
Held up by Kitts, Jet Of Dreams stayed on powerfully up the straight despite hanging, but the stewards were not pleased with his efforts.
They slammed down a 14-day non-trier ban, saying: “Kitts failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to ensure that Jet Of Dreams was given full opportunity to obtain the best possible placing.
“He failed to ride his mount in such a way that he could be seen to ask for a timely, real or substantial level of effort.”
But Jet Of Dreams’ trainer Warren Greatrex has come out in defence of Kitts, with welfare being the key to his argument.
Greatrex told Racing Post: “He was trying to the best he could on that horse.
“They’re saying he should’ve got stuck into him but I disagree. He was trying to the best he could on that horse. They’re saying he should’ve got stuck into him but I disagree.
“If he’d given it an all-action ride the horse would’ve fallen in a hole. In my opinion, he’s ridden that horse like a mature rider and he’s done what I’ve told him to do.”
Kitts has ridden 11 winners from 78 rides in his career to date, with seven of those coming for Greatrex.
Greatrex, a Grade 1-winning trainer who won this year’s Topham with Bill Baxter, employs Kitts as his conditional jockey.
After a difficult couple of years, including the heartbreaking losses of two stable staff members, Greatrex landed a big-race winner with Bill Baxter’s Topham success at this year’s Grand National meeting – sparking emotional scenes.
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