Hills holds up hands after failing to declare wind op for 25-1 winner Jetstream

Charlie Hills has insisted there was no intention to mislead after Jetstream scored a 25-1 Newcastle success on his first start following a wind operation the trainer failed to declare as required by BHA rules.

Hills, who was fined £290 by the Newcastle stewards, became the first trainer punished for contravening the new requirement for licence-holders to inform the BHA of any new breathing treatment by the first point of declaration at latest.

This was one case in which the surgery proved a spectacular success as Jetstream – whose surgery was revealed by the Racing Post around an hour before the contest following notification from Weatherbys – came from last to first to beat previous winner Culpability by three-quarters of a length.

The son of Galileo, part-owned by Sue Magnier, was having his first run since finishing last of 11 at Newmarket last July.

In a statement to the Racing Post, Hills said: "It's a genuine error. When the rule came in in November, we had been looking at horses who had undergone wind surgery since then and we have declared horses that have had operations. This horse had his in August and maybe the wording of the rule was a little unclear.

"We were happy to take the horse out, but the BHA let us run, which was very kind of them. We're all learning about this and the horse had his operation months before the rule was made.

"My office is absolutely first-class and do a great job. This is just something we presumed and got wrong. We'll pay the fine and apologise for any inconvenience caused. It certainly wasn't our intention to mislead anybody."

BHA head of media Robin Mounsey said: "The new rules that require trainers to declare when wind operations have taken place have been introduced to ensure the betting public has access to more information which might inform their decision whether to bet on a horse or not.

"Trainer Charlie Hills notified the BHA on the morning of the race that his horse Jetstream had undergone a wind operation since its last run, but that his team had failed to inform the Racing Calendar office.

"The stewards at the racecourse held an inquiry and accepted an explanation from the trainer that he had forgotten to notify the Racing Calendar in error.

"They also noted the fact the trainer himself had informed the BHA about the error in order that the wind surgery could be made public before the race. This information was transmitted to the media and posted on social media by the BHA stewards and BHA press office accounts.

"As a result the trainer was fined a lower-level penalty of £290 rather than the standard £650 fine. The individual circumstances around specific incidents will always be considered before a penalty is applied."

Mounsey added: "The new regulations are only one month old and the BHA will continue to monitor all aspects of the rules as they go through the bedding-in process."

Jetstream, a €80,000 yearling purchase, was ridden by Robert Winston, who said: "He's a very nice horse with a good pedigree. He travelled powerfully throughout the race and was strong at the finish. There was nothing wrong with his wind today."

Although he was sent off at 25-1, Jetstream did attract early money as he opened at 20-1 in the morning market and was backed into 12-1 at one point before drifting on course.

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