'He was determined to win' - Nicholls says riders must be aware of new whip rules

Paul Nicholls on Monday offered his support to jockey Lorcan Williams after he was banned for 18 days but insisted riders must take responsibility and be aware of the new whip rules.

Williams was riding Makin'yourmindup for the champion trainer in a Grade 2 novice hurdle at Haydock this month when he used his whip above the permitted level and was last week banned for 18 days.

His suspension rules him out of the Cheltenham Festival and he said at the time: "I'm absolutely gutted, but it is what it is and I'll take it on the chin. Hopefully I'll learn from it but it has been a hard transition for us all. It's very difficult because it's been a big change and the bedding-in period of the new rules wasn't a success by any means."

Asked how Williams had been since the ban, Nicholls, who is based in Ditcheat, Somerset, said: "He's fine. It's difficult but they all know the rules and have got to stick to them. He'd had a few warnings and then he got into that race the other day. Being young and keen, he had his head down and was determined to win. Without that, he probably wouldn't have won.

"He broke the rules and he had been warned. It's a difficult one, but it needs to settle down and hopefully we can just concentrate on Cheltenham without talking about the whip."

Williams, who recorded his biggest victory in the 2020 Midlands Grand National on the Nicholls-trained Truckers Lodge, is on course for his most prolific campaign with 19 winners on the board, which would leave him well placed to overhaul last season's personal best of 23.

Only Harry Cobden has ridden more winners for Nicholls this term than Williams, who is out of action from March 7.

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