We don't stop horses : says trainer Chris Honour in response to Hillsin's suspension.

Chris Honour stated that he would "never tell someone not to win" and claimed that his family was caught up in the aftermath of Hillsin's contentious performance at Worcester on Wednesday evening.

Hillsin was having his first start for trainer Honour in the two-and-a-half mile conditional riders' handicap hurdle and looked to have a good chance of winning when surging into contention along the home straight under conditional jockey Dylan Kitts.

The five-year-old finished third, defeated a length and a half, with the race-day stewards closely scrutinizing his performance. They conducted an investigation and subsequently submitted Kitts to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), who suspended the horse from racing for 40 days.

According to the BBC, the stewards' investigation discovered that Hillsin "traveled strongly" in the home straight, "without ever appearing to be asked for a finishing effort." Kitts informed them that the horse had made "respiratory noises" during the race on Wednesday.

Honour told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast on Thursday, "I'm beside myself about the whole thing." I spoke with my wife yesterday night, and she was in tears. I'm upset about it, and I don't want to be a part of it.

"I would never tell someone not to win; it's not fair to ask someone not to win because, at the end of the day, lads put their necks on the line." I don't want people to think negatively of us because that's not who we are or what we do. But I can't deny that it looks bad.

"I don't want to get the jockey in trouble... but I told him not to lose his head, and he's gone to an extreme," Hillsin added. "If he were to look back this morning, I'm sure he'd be disappointed with the ride he's given it."

The Devon-based trainer also stated that he had received harassment on social media as a result of the incident. "It's terrible for us and my family to read Twitter and Facebook. I did my best with the horse in my head, and I rode him every day. He went there in wonderful shape and ran a fantastic race; it's just a really unfortunate outcome.

"I love horses and treat them as if they were family to some extent, but with him this morning, I went to feed him and thought to myself, 'You've caused one of the worst days in my racing career.'" It irritates me. We don't halt horses because it's not what we do. People think it happens in racing, and it does, but it's not what we do."