Dylan Kitts suffers from anxiety and was 'naive and desperate for opportunities', says family member as Hillsin hearing concludes

The Hillsin hearing ended on Monday with an emotional plea for understanding on behalf of the ex-jockey Dylan Kitts, who has admitted giving the horse a stopping ride in a Worcester handicap hurdle two years ago. 

Kitts's aunt, Caroline Cox, made a speech to the disciplinary panel in which she sought to portray the rider, then 22, as "naive, eager to make an impression and desperate for opportunities".

"Dylan has a diagnosis of anxiety," Cox began, "and is awaiting an assessment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, with possible links to post-traumatic stress disorder arising from this incident. These conditions affect memory, impulsivity and responses under pressure. They may have contributed to him acting in ways others might not have and to lying when frightened or coerced."

That was a reference to evidence given by Kitts last week, when he said he had stopped Hillsin in response to an instruction to lose the race, accompanied by a perception of threat, from John Higgins, who denies wrongdoing. Chris Honour, who trained the horse at the time, also denies charges of being involved and of encouraging Kitts to stop the horse.

"The investigation has not done him justice," Cox said. "It dragged on for over two years, with more than six months passing before Dylan was even interviewed. Key details were missed or mishandled. 

"Even now, after giving his evidence, Dylan remains fearful. He and his family have had to bear witness to awful online abuse"Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"Even now, after giving his evidence, Dylan remains fearful. He and his family have had to bear witness to awful online abuse."

Summing up the BHA case, barrister Louis Weston said of Kitts: "He was quite difficult, leading up to it, and some of his messages slightly intemperate.

"In his evidence, he isn't the abusive, surly chap that one might have thought. He made sensible concessions, he was pretty balanced in his evidence. When he comes to you and says, there are no innocent people here, that's got real resonance."

• 'There are no innocent people here' - Hillsin rider Dylan Kitts makes explosive claims over threats he says he received 

But Weston dismissed Kitts's claim he had acted out of fear or that threats were made. Instead, he claimed Kitts had been motivated by the hope of more rides in future.

Regarding the case against Honour, Weston outlined how he felt the trainer should have behaved if he were not involved. "You'd expect much, much more involvement with a conditional jockey he's never met. 

"You'd expect surprise in the inquiry at the account Mr Kitts has given, because he's a professional horseman who's just seen an obvious stopping ride. And you'd expect him to contradict Mr Kitts about the reporting of Hillsin hanging and give honest answers to the stewards."

On Honour's behalf, the barrister Roderick Moore responded: "He made it clear in the inquiry that the jockey should have used his stick at the tail end of the race. Mr Honour makes no bones about the fact that he instinctively defended his jockey. He didn't intentionally mislead anyone. He regrets defending Mr Kitts to the extent that he did."

Chris Honour: denies charges

Moore said messages sent that day from Honour's phone, expressing his views about the ride, were demonstrably inconsistent with any suggestion he was involved. "As Mr Honour understood, the owner of the horse, Mr Clegg, had backed it. Why would Mr Honour want the horse not to win when the owner had done that?

"When one stands back and paints in all the background circumstances and factual detail, the BHA's case increasingly has the appearance of someone trying to bang a square peg into a round hole."

A verdict is expected later this week.

Read more:

Trainer charged in Hillsin case was 'out to make a good impression' on fellow alleged conspirator, claims prosecution 

'There are no innocent people here' - Hillsin rider Dylan Kitts makes explosive claims over threats he says he received 

Hillsin’s alleged conspirators alarmed that rider’s performance had ‘let the cat out of the bag’ 

Associate charged in controversial Hillsin case slams BHA stance following 'life-changing' deterioration in health 

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