Whangarei RC 29 June 2013 – R 7
ID: JCA10559
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Whangarei RC - 29 June 2013
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
GJones
Race Date:
2013/06/29
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
As Ms Spratt admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
We grant Ms Spratt's request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).
Accordingly, we impose a suspension on Ms Spratt which will commence after racing on 6 July and conclude after racing on 15 July 2013 (4 days).
The penalty did not include any South Island meetings as Ms Spratt confirmed that she did not intend riding at any upcoming South Island meetings.
Charge:
Following race 7, Whangarei Bus Services Open 2100, an information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Spratt used her whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres on her mount MONTETRA.
Ms Spratt acknowledged that she understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 638(3) (b) states: A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive or improper.
Facts:
Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films Ms Spratt used her whip 12 times prior to the 200 metres. He said while Ms Spratt did pause once for 3 strides then again for 4 strides the breach was outside the whip guidelines.
Ms Spratt informed the Committee that she didn't think she was hitting her mount that much. She said she was trying to do her job however acknowledged when viewing the films that she did strike her mount 12 times prior to the 200 metre mark.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Coles produced Ms Spratt's record which showed this was her 5th breach under this Rule in the last 12 months, namely 22 December 2012 at Manawatu (fined $150), 10 January 2013 at Te Rapa (fined $225), 9 March 2013 at Ellerslie (fined $300) and 22 May 2013 at Avondale (4 day suspension). Mr Coles added that Stewards had spoken to Ms Spratt on several occasions over her whip use. He submitted that the breach was assessed as being at the lower end of the scale. He said Ms Spratt did give her mount some respite with the whip but it was outside the guidelines.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Coles stated today’s breach in his view, the severity was less than the recent 4 day suspension imposed. He explained that in Ms Spratt's previous breach she had struck her mount 13 times and went on to win the race.
Mr Coles in summing up submitted a similar suspension was warranted for today’s offence taking into account Ms Spratt's record.
Ms Spratt submitted that she was shocked when her previous penalty for this breach had risen from a $300 fine to a 4 day suspension. She informed the Committee that today she rode in 8 races which meant a further suspension would equate to a hefty fine in loss of riding fees alone.
Ms Spratt advised the Committee that she’s mindful of her record and was making an attempt to rectify it. She believed today’s breach was at the low end of the scale and recognised a suspension was inevitable given her recent record. Ms Spratt requested that if she was to be suspended, the Committee grant her a 7 day deferment as she had firm commitments up to and including July 6.
In response to a question from the Committee, Ms Spratt confirmed she had no intention of riding at Oamaru on July 8 or Timaru on July 12.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Ms Spratt's admission of the breach, the number of strikes (12) is assessed as low range, the severity is assessed as low range and we note that Ms Spratt did give her mount respite on 2 occasions. The significant aggravating fact is that this is Ms Spratt's 5th breach in the last 12 months.
We note that MONTETRA finished in 3rd place.
We informed Ms Spratt that the JCA penalty guide recommended the starting point for a 2nd breach is a 2 day suspension or a $500 fine.
We referred to the JCA archive listing of penalties for similar breaches which showed 3 riders with similar records attracted 3 and 4 day suspensions.
In light of Ms Spratt's poor record we considered the merits of a more lengthy suspension. But ultimately after weighing up the submissions of both Mr Coles and Ms Spratt we gave her credit for the number of mitigating factors, which were presented to us which were in her favour.
After taking into account all the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a 4 day suspension.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
Dmitry: This section contains all JCA fields migrated from the raw data.
Data from these fields should be mapped appropriately to display amongst the standard fields above; please make note of any values below that are missing in the above standard fields but should be there.
hearingid: 0aa3950fd1554dea77bb0e27600ab530
informantnumber: A2752
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 24/06/2013
hearing_title: Whangarei RC 29 June 2013 - R 7
charge:
Following race 7, Whangarei Bus Services Open 2100, an information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Ms Spratt used her whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres on her mount MONTETRA.
Ms Spratt acknowledged that she understood the Rule and the nature of the charge.
Rule 638(3) (b) states: A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary, excessive or improper.
facts:
Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films Ms Spratt used her whip 12 times prior to the 200 metres. He said while Ms Spratt did pause once for 3 strides then again for 4 strides the breach was outside the whip guidelines.
Ms Spratt informed the Committee that she didn't think she was hitting her mount that much. She said she was trying to do her job however acknowledged when viewing the films that she did strike her mount 12 times prior to the 200 metre mark.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Ms Spratt admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Coles produced Ms Spratt's record which showed this was her 5th breach under this Rule in the last 12 months, namely 22 December 2012 at Manawatu (fined $150), 10 January 2013 at Te Rapa (fined $225), 9 March 2013 at Ellerslie (fined $300) and 22 May 2013 at Avondale (4 day suspension). Mr Coles added that Stewards had spoken to Ms Spratt on several occasions over her whip use. He submitted that the breach was assessed as being at the lower end of the scale. He said Ms Spratt did give her mount some respite with the whip but it was outside the guidelines.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Coles stated today’s breach in his view, the severity was less than the recent 4 day suspension imposed. He explained that in Ms Spratt's previous breach she had struck her mount 13 times and went on to win the race.
Mr Coles in summing up submitted a similar suspension was warranted for today’s offence taking into account Ms Spratt's record.
Ms Spratt submitted that she was shocked when her previous penalty for this breach had risen from a $300 fine to a 4 day suspension. She informed the Committee that today she rode in 8 races which meant a further suspension would equate to a hefty fine in loss of riding fees alone.
Ms Spratt advised the Committee that she’s mindful of her record and was making an attempt to rectify it. She believed today’s breach was at the low end of the scale and recognised a suspension was inevitable given her recent record. Ms Spratt requested that if she was to be suspended, the Committee grant her a 7 day deferment as she had firm commitments up to and including July 6.
In response to a question from the Committee, Ms Spratt confirmed she had no intention of riding at Oamaru on July 8 or Timaru on July 12.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Ms Spratt's admission of the breach, the number of strikes (12) is assessed as low range, the severity is assessed as low range and we note that Ms Spratt did give her mount respite on 2 occasions. The significant aggravating fact is that this is Ms Spratt's 5th breach in the last 12 months.
We note that MONTETRA finished in 3rd place.
We informed Ms Spratt that the JCA penalty guide recommended the starting point for a 2nd breach is a 2 day suspension or a $500 fine.
We referred to the JCA archive listing of penalties for similar breaches which showed 3 riders with similar records attracted 3 and 4 day suspensions.
In light of Ms Spratt's poor record we considered the merits of a more lengthy suspension. But ultimately after weighing up the submissions of both Mr Coles and Ms Spratt we gave her credit for the number of mitigating factors, which were presented to us which were in her favour.
After taking into account all the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a 4 day suspension.
penalty:
We grant Ms Spratt's request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).
Accordingly, we impose a suspension on Ms Spratt which will commence after racing on 6 July and conclude after racing on 15 July 2013 (4 days).
The penalty did not include any South Island meetings as Ms Spratt confirmed that she did not intend riding at any upcoming South Island meetings.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms S Spratt - Rider of MONTETRA
Otherperson: Mr M Williamson - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 85c06fd62bf10e0a922a26324ef90477
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
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race_km:
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race_chair:
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meetid: dfc4af04e3837b96e05b428a58f9513d
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meetdate: 29/06/2013
meet_title: Whangarei RC - 29 June 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: whangarei-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: GJones
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name: Whangarei RC