Ashley Barnes' father-in-law told Hillsin trainer: 'He's let the cat out of the bag'

The father-in-law of Burnley star Ashley Barnes allegedly told the trainer of Hillsin, “He’s let the cat out of the bag” after jockey Dylan Kitts stopped Hillsin from winning at Worcester in 2023.

The revelation emerged as Hillsin’s trainer Chris Honour gave evidence to the BHA disciplinary inquiry into the controversial running of the horse who finished third in a conditional jockeys handicap hurdle after drifting in the betting from 2-1 to 11-1.

Kitts has admitted in evidence to the inquiry that he deliberately held back Hillsin but claimed he had done so after receiving a threat from John Higgins, father-in-law of Premier League footballer Barnes.

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The jockey, Honour, and Higgins have been charged with committing and conspiring to commit a corrupt or fraudulent practice by “agreeing to stop” Hillsin from achieving the best possible position.

Honour denies the charges while Higgins is taking no part due to medical issues. Barnes was issued with an exclusion order by the BHA last year for failing to cooperate with the investigation but has not been charged, nor has registered owner Alan Clegg.

The trainer told the inquiry that Higgins had been instrumental in bringing Hillsin and one other horse to his stable with the promise “if you do a good job with these ones, my son’s a Premier League footballer and you’ll get much more.”

On the day of the Worcester race he and Higgins engaged in several phone calls, including immediately after the race.

Honour said: "I rang and said, ‘He’s run well’. Then he said, ‘He’s let the cat out of the bag and he’s cooched it'."

The trainer was asked by BHA barrister Louis Weston what that meant to which Honour replied, “I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. He didn’t sound that upset.”

Weston said: “It normally means in English something that was supposed to be kept secret. It’s pretty obvious what he meant, isn’t it?”

He went on, “A couple of days later the penny dropped and you realise that ‘let the cat out of the bag’ means he got caught stopping the horse. That’s what it looks like on all of the evidence. Why do you say Mr Higgins would trust you with that line unless you were in on it? It doesn’t make any sense unless you know about it."

Honour, who said he has dyslexia and trouble remembering things, said: “I didn’t know about it. A lot of this doesn’t make any sense to me.”

The inquiry was told that Higgins and Honour have never spoken to each other since that call, having been in regular contact up until the Worcester race.

Honour, who had Hillsin removed from his yard, explained: “I was speaking to Mr Clegg because he was the owner. Something bad had happened. We’d had death threats. It became apparent that something had happened that I had no knowledge of.

“I told him I have no interest in any of this. I would be happy if I have no contact with you or anyone else ever again.”

The inquiry was adjourned until Monday