barryb,
“I’m absolutely gutted, I can’t believe it,” Higgins told www.theinformant.co.nz tonight. “I should be out celebrating with everyone else, but that’s the last thing I feel like doing.
“Amanda and I are back at our motel and me, I have to admit all I can do is feel sorry for myself.
“Once I’ve ridden at Te Aroha on Wednesday that will be it for the rest of the year. That will mean missing the Great Northern meeting, Pakuranga, National Jumps Day – whatever’s left of the season.
“It’s very hard to take, from celebrating my biggest win and thinking what it means for my career, then to be hit with this.
“I’ve put heart and soul into making a go of it over the past couple of years. It’s not easy based down in Invercargill and being the only committed jumps jockey in the whole of the South Island.
“But I’ve really pushed myself, I’ve travelled where ever I’ve had to and felt like I was making a contribution. The way I feel right now though, I’m wondering why I bothered.”
The above is taken from the Informant article available on this website and clearly backs up what "Thomass" has said. I both admire and appreciate the dedication and ability displayed by Mr Higgins but sincerely hope that someone this jockey trusts has a quiet word to him about both his whip action and his attitude towards the welfare of his mounts.
All the best.
Ashoka