Ethan Brown takes first step to repaying supporters during his Airbnb ban with Moe treble last Friday

Ethan Brown made the best possible return to riding last week from his ban for breaking Covid rules and he’s determined to repay the loyalty of trainers.

Ethan Brown wants to repay the faith of the trainers who stuck by him during his high-profile suspension for breaching Covid rules in August. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

Jockey Ethan Brown used the perfect formula to correct a mistake.

It was a simple approach. Work hard, do his time and be ready to repay his supporters’ faith when the time comes to return to the job.

Brown missed more than three months after he was one of the five jockeys suspended for being at the Airbnb party that breached Victoria’s then Covid-19 curfew in August.

Rather than shy away from his mistake, Brown made the most of his enforced break from racing by riding as much work as he could for trainers Leon and Troy Corstens, Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and Matt Laurie.

“The time went quite quickly actually. That was probably because I stayed so active,” Brown said.

“I had good support around me, a couple of close mates and my girlfriend so we got through it.”

That hard work had no immediate reward as Brown was unable to ride during the spring.

But it left Brown ready to go on his first day back at Moe last Friday.

Brown rode a treble and went within a nose of a fourth winner from only six rides at the Gippsland venue.

The jockey also showed he was keen to work by making an unsuccessful stop at The Valley for one ride on his way home.

“Going to that Moe meeting, I was determined to ride a winner. That was my goal to make that happen,” Brown said.

“When I did ride a winner, it was a feeling of achieving what I wanted to do after having three months off.”

Jockey Ethan Brown posting one of his three wins on his first day back in the saddle at Moe aboard the Cliff Brown-trained Yaphet. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

Brown was happy to cop a few lighthearted jokes at his expense from the other riders as their way of welcoming him back to the fold.

“Just walking back into the jockeys’ room it was like normal,” Brown said.

“It was good to be back in the jockeys’ room and back in the saddle.”

However, a treble at Moe was never going to be enough to satisfy Brown in his comeback.

The jockey said he was desperate to repay those trainers that supported him via working him hard during his enforced absence from racing.

“The job’s definitely not done now,” Brown said.

“I really want to accomplish a lot more than riding a treble at Moe.

“Those trainers really supported me through my suspension. They provided me with plenty of work and kept me active.

“I still had a choice whether to go there and ride work or not but given they provided me with those opportunities, I was very grateful.”

The Alice Springs-born Brown has three rides at Sandown on Wednesday, including Comic Set for his old boss Mick Kent, before starting the hectic holiday period on Boxing Day.

After so long off the scene, Brown just wants to ride winners – and plenty of them.

“I’m fresh, ready to go and keen as ever to go,” Brown said.

“For me, it’s more about managing myself properly. I’ve just got to be smart the way I place myself rather than just go hell for leather.

“I’ll go hard within myself but it’s a matter of working smart.”

Originally published as Ethan Brown takes first step to repaying supporters during his Airbnb ban with Moe treble last Friday