Chris Honour wanted to make ‘good impression’, says BHA prosecutor

Trainer Chris Honour took part in a conspiracy to prevent Hillsin from winning at Worcester in July 2023 on the understanding he would be sent more horses by the father-in-law of a Premier League footballer, a disciplinary panel was told on Wednesday.

Honour, 46, who at the time trained Hillsin, is one of three individuals charged with deliberately stopping the horse from winning the Wacky Weekender Festival Pitchcroft 21st-23rd July Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle along with former jockey Dylan Kitts and John Higgins, an associate of owner Alan Clegg.

Honour and Higgins deny all the charges, while Kitts has already admitted to preventing the horse from running on its merits. Clegg has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Honour had been dealing far more frequently with Higgins than Clegg since Hillsin had moved to the yard, stating he believed all his correspondence with Higgins was being shared with Clegg.

British Horseracing Authority barrister Louis Weston questioned Honour about a day Hillsin was due to run at Newton Abbot on June 27 2023 when the horse got loose on the morning of the race and was unable to run.

Weston said that Honour felt embarrassed about what had happened that day and was keen to make a good impression so went along with the plan.

Honour and Kitts had never met prior to meeting pre-race.

Kitts had told the hearing already that Higgins had told him “under no f****** circumstances was that horse to win”.

Weston said: “Here’s a man dangling future riches. You have made a cock-up on your first trial and because of that you were going to want to make a good impression.

“You knew he (Higgins) was a gambler, you knew he bet on horses and you knew he had a thing about ‘missing the price’. He was suspicious that another owner in your yard might get intelligence about the horse and get a better price.”

Honour, who told the panel at the beginning of Wednesday’s hearing that he believed he had undiagnosed dyslexia and had a difficulty remembering conversations and names, disagreed wholeheartedly with Weston.

Honour, who explained his mobile phone signal was not very strong by way of an explanation for the number of phone calls between himself and Higgins which made it necessary to keep ringing him back, did admit that he was someone who “tried to appease” people.

As Honour has also been charged with not giving Kitts sufficient instructions and ‘encouraging Kitts to give a stopping ride’, Weston pushed him on the instructions he had given to Kitts which he said were good enough for any ‘trying’ jockey.

Honour said: “I never said hold the horse to the line, I have never told anybody at what point they go for the line – they are jockeys and they are paid to do a job. They know how to race. I couldn’t have done any more from my point of view.”

Regarding what he said in the initial stewards’ inquiry, Honour said that in trying to help Kitts he had gone too far.

“I did too much to help him,” said Honour. “I went in with the mindset to help the lad and at the time I did think the horse had hung (in the race) but over time I’ve believed that less and less.

“I didn’t want to get anyone in trouble, as that’s not me.

“I was wrong, but I don’t believe I was trying to be misleading, I was trying to work with what I could see. For you to say that I was misleading, that was never my intention.”

When giving his evidence on Tuesday Kitts had said he did not act alone but in defence of Honour his barrister Roderick Moore said the only evidence against his client were Kitts’ allegations.

Moore said: “We say Mr Kitts has virtually no credibility and the panel must be extremely wary of accepting anything he says. He has told a number of lies.”

Higgins, 79, is not in attendance at the hearing due to ill health and has refused to cooperate with the BHA. As a result he was placed on the exclusion list in March 2024, along with his son-in-law Ashley Barnes.

All evidence has now been heard with submissions to be made on Monday.