Jamie Stier, Director of Raceday Operations and Regulation for the British Horseracing Authority (BHA), said:

“We would like to register on record that we recognise the frustration felt by Richard Hughes about this episode while at the same time endorsing the findings of both the Disciplinary Panel and the Appeal Board, who concluded that under the Rules of Racing the correct decision was to uphold the suspension imposed by the Royal Western India Turf Club.

“The BHA stands behind the principle of reciprocity of penalties among recognised international racing bodies. Without reciprocity there is a risk of there being no effective measures to deter visiting participants from breaching the rules of the respective authority.

“Similar applications to those lodged by Richard Hughes are, thankfully, few and far between. However, we will be looking to see if there are any lessons to learn which may assist the handling of such matters in the future.”