BHA chief wanted ‘tougher sentence’ given to Best

British Horseracing Authority chief executive Nick Rust believes a stiffer penalty should have been handed out to Jim Best.

The Lewes trainer was suspended for six months following a rehearing into the running and riding of two horses in December last year.

He was handed the ban by an independent disciplinary panel after it ruled Best had instructed conditional jockey Paul John to ride Echo Brava and Missile Man other than on their merits, and that they were “stopping rides”.