Jack Nicholls - hit by whip ban

Jack Nicholls hit with 25-day whip ban

Horse Racing

Mon November 02, 2026 · 11h ago

Jack Nicholls has been given a 25-day ban, eight of which have been deferred, for a fifth breach of the whip rules inside six months.

The latest came aboard Strength Of Spirit who was second in the John Mackenzie and Hamish MacGregory Memorial Handicap at Hamilton on September 28.

He used the whip seven times, one above the allowed number, as his partner went down by a short-head.

In the published result Sam Magee KC, a judicial panel member, said: "The record makes uncomfortable reading. Mr Nicholls committed five breaches in 155 rides between June 23 and September 28 2026. That is one breach every 31 rides, a high rate for a Flat jockey, and the breaches were packed into little more than three months.

"More troubling still, the BHA wrote to him on August 14 and again on September 15 warning that he was close to totting up. Within a fortnight of the second letter he had offended again. Several points weigh in his favour:

• Each breach for exceeding the limit was at the lower end of the scale.

• One breach attracted full mitigation because of his long clean run beforehand.

• Taken across all 271 rides in the six-month period, his rate falls to about one breach in 54 rides.

• This is his first referral.

• He has admitted the breach without contest."

Nicholls, the son of former jockey and current trainer Adrian, has enjoyed a breakthrough season winning the Prix de l’Abbaye on the Karl Burke-trained Miss Yechance at ParisLongchamp last month.

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