Kielan Woods blames 'mental block' after landing 45-day whip ban following a third referral for repeat offences

Kielan Woods says he is determined to get to the bottom of the "mental block" he blames for his ongoing issues with the whip after being hit with a 45-day ban for repeated breaches of the rules following a third referral hearing by the independent judicial panel in 13 months.

Woods was handed a 42-day suspension – nine of which were deferred – on June 15 but reached the threshold of four breaches in a six-month period for a further referral hearing at Newbury on December 30 after two separate cases of excessive use, with the second of those, a winning ride aboard Henry's Friend, including ten strikes of the whip.

Woods said: "By the time I reach the end of this season I'll have missed around a third of the last year through suspension, and I've got no one to blame but myself. I'm going to spend this time off getting to the bottom of why I seem to have a mental block when it comes to this issue and making sure that whatever the issue is, I get it fixed."

Acting on behalf of Woods, Rory Mac Neice pleaded for the panel to take into account the jockey's own conclusion that his repeated breaches were down to "a deep-seated issue in his head which needs to be addressed," following successful modification of his whip technique in conjunction with jockey coach George Baker.

Mac Neice said that Woods had recently engaged the services of sports psychologist Michael Caulfield in an attempt to get to the bottom of why he continued to find himself in what the jockey himself admitted was "a deeply concerning situation."

Kielan Woods: has sought the counsel of a sports psychologist in relation to his use of the whipCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Acting on behalf of the BHA, Charlotte Davison argued that the penalty to should be "substantially in excess" of the entry point of a 28-day suspension, and pushed for a ban towards the top end of a maximum of four months for what she described as the jockey's "persistent disregard" for the rules.

In presenting the BHA's case, Davison referred to a note passed on from the Newbury stewards concerning the two breaches of the rules for excessive use of the whip incurred on December 30. The stewards had warned after the first breach that any further issue would automatically lead to another referral to the disciplinary panel, although Woods was back before them just two races later.

Davison pointed to Woods' profile as "neither aggravating nor mitigating," given an offence ratio of one breach for every 34 rides during the three and a half months between him returning from his previous suspension and the fourth faulty ride that triggered Friday's hearing.

Panel chair James O'Mahony accepted Mac Neice's portrait of Woods as negligent rather than a jockey who is at odds with the rules or campaigning to get them changed. In addition, Woods must spend three days at the British Racing School for remedial tuition under the guidance of Richard Perham.

Woods is stable jockey to Ben Pauling and, despite his previous lengthy ban, has 27 wins for the campaign. In addition to his 42-day ban in June, Woods served an 18-day suspension for accumulated whip offences in December 2022, before the new rules and penalties were introduced to British racing.

Nine days of Woods' 45-day suspension were deferred and his ban will run from January 20 to February 24.

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