Josephine Gordon: I was only riding out once a week for Stan. But he was still paying my full wages

In the current situation, it would have been very easy for me to keep my head down, continue to work hard and ride to the best of my ability, and say nothing. But I think Stan [Moore] has been painted in an unfair light, so I feel I have to say something.

You have to work hard to get rides. You have to earn them. It’s so hard for owners and trainers to put apprentices up. Horses are not cheap and anything could happen on the track.

Stan always supported me, as I’ve said before. And he always wanted what is best for me. He was the only one giving me opportunities when no-one else wanted to.

When things got going and I had some success, he wanted me to ride the majority of his horses, but by then I had other options then and he was quite happy to let me ride for other trainers. For that, I have to give him a lot of credit and thanks.

And I think it is important to point out that, halfway through my claim, I was only in riding out once a week for Stan. The rest of the time I was elsewhere. But Stan was still paying my full wages.

I know the current situation is probably not ideal, and some apprentices do struggle, but I think for the Racing Post to single him out is not fair.

Even now I find there’s the odd day that I’m out of pocket. By the time I’ve paid my expenses, fuel etc, there’s not much left over. Sometimes you are paying to ride the horse.

But that’s just the way racing is. Sometimes you have to look to the future and at the bigger picture, work hard and hopefully get the rewards.

This will be my only comment on this, thank you.

Find 32Red’s latest odds here – we offer price boosts on every UK and Irish racing event, as well as enhanced multiples and jockey specials. If you’re still up for a flutter, be sure to check out our award-winning casino too!