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Auckland TC 10 October 2014 – R 5

ID: JCA10828

Applicant:
Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr M Nichollas - Licensed Horseman

Other Person:
Mr Ferguson - Driver of LOKI BROGDEN, Mr Mangos - Driver of MY MUMS ASTAR

Information Number:
A3714

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Driving

Rules:
869(3)(b)

Plea:
denied

Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 10 October 2014

Meet Chair:
BScott

Meet Committee Member 1:
GJones

Race Date:
2014/10/10

Race Number:
R5

Decision:

The charge is proved.

Penalty:

The Committee imposes a fine of $300.00 on Mr Nicholas.

Facts:

Following the running of THE MANGOES RESORT HANDICAP TROT an Information was lodged pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b) by Stipendiary Steward Mr STR Mulcay against Licensed Horseman Mr M Nicholas alleging that Mr Nicholas drove carelessly entering the first turn when shifting TE KOUKA BREEZE inwards which resulted in MY MUMS ASTAR being forced down onto LOKI BROGDEN which was checked and galloped losing its chance.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides:
“That no horseman in any Race shall drive carelessly.”

Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed that passing the winning post the first time, Mr Nicholas on TE KOUKA BREEZE was outside of MY MUMS ASTAR and he showed that there was sufficient room on the inside for LOKI BROGDEN to move in there. He said that Mr Mangos had shifted Mr Nicholas out as he was entitled to do over the first 200 metres or so and that Mr Mangos was entitled to the one one position. Mr Ferguson had moved in with LOKI BROGDEN and he then said that Mr Nicholas tried to move back inwards and in doing so pushed MY MUMS ASTAR onto LOKI BROGDEN which ran out of room and broke.

Mr Nicholas then asked Mr Mulcay if Mr Mangos was entitled to be in the one one position and he said that the Stewards were of the opinion that he was because he had eased Mr Nicholas out and had taken that position. Mr Nicholas then asked if Mr Mangos could come out and force him wider when Mr Mangos’ horse was behind him. Mr Mulcay said that the Stewards' view is that there can be shifting inwards and outwards over the first 200 or so metres so long as it was done with safety. He said that Mr Mangos had achieved this and in answer to a further question Mr Mulcay said that Mr Nicholas persisted with pushing Mr Mangos back down and this caused the problem.

Mr Ferguson as the driver of LOKI BROGDEN then gave evidence and he said that he drew 1 on the 10 metres mark and that he galloped on the first turn and the reason for that was that he ran out of room. He said that prior to the first turn he had got inside Mr Mangos’ horse and it had come down on him and he had simply run out of room and his horse had broken and lost its chance.

Mr Mulcay then asked Mr Ferguson if he had enough room to go forward and he confirmed that he did so.

Mr Mangos then gave evidence as the driver of MY MUMS ASTAR. He said that he moved off the fence shortly after the start and as he got to the winning post he was in the one one position. He said that he was in front of Mr Nicholas when he came out and that Mr Nicholas then came back in on him and tried to push him back down. He said that that was obvious on the film because the head of Mr Nicholas’ horse was turned inwards. Mr Mangos said that as a result of the movement Mr Nicholas knocked Mr Ferguson down. Mr Mangos also said that he believed that although Mr Nicholas may have been following the one out horse earlier on he then continued to try to follow it and in doing so he had come in too far and had caused the problem.

Mr Nicholas asked Mr Mangos if he was aware that LOKI BROGDEN was down on his inside and Mr Mangos said that there was plenty of room for LOKI BROGDEN but that room was closed off by Mr Nicholas’ movement.

Mr Nicholas gave evidence as the driver of TE KOUKA BREEZE. He said that he was racing in the one one going past the winning post and he was pushed out by Mr Mangos. He said he was merely trying to hold his ground and he was following BURT MUNRO which was in front of him. He said he was simply maintaining his line and that he was not moving inwards. He said he did not believe that Mr Mangos was entitled to the one one position and that he in fact was in the one one position and he also believed that there was not sufficient room for Mr Ferguson to go up on the inside.

Submissions for Decision:

Summary by Mr Mulcay:

Mr Mulcay said by way of summary that Mr Mangos had been able to shift out to one out in the running line. He said that Mr Nicholas had been pushed out and Mr Mangos was entitled to be where he was and that Mr Nicholas then tried to follow the horse in front of him which was BURT MUNRO. That horse had moved down to the one one position which it was entitled to do and that Mr Nicholas had made a mistake in trying to follow it. He said that there were two horses on its inside at the time and Mr Nicholas’ movement caused LOKI BROGDEN to be checked and to break.

Summary by Mr Nicholas:

Mr Nicholas said that he had the right to hold his ground and he believed that Mr Ferguson had anticipated Mr Mangos forcing Mr Nicholas three wide. He said that there was not sufficient room there.

Reasons for Decision:

The Committee has watched the films several times and have watched them in slow motion. We have also listened to the evidence of the parties.
We are satisfied that Mr Mangos got into the one one position which he was entitled to and that Mr Ferguson had room to move up on the inside. The evidence shows that shortly after entering the bend Mr Ferguson’s horse broke as a result of pressure from the outside which we have assessed to be a direct result of Mr Nicholas shifting inwards when not entitled to do so. This is, in our view, confirmed by the films and particularly by the rear view.
The Committee is satisfied that Mr Nicholas has driven carelessly.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a suspension of eight drives or a $400.00 fine. He said that this incident was in the mid-range and that Mr Nicholas did have a good record. Mr Mulcay submitted that a suspension of Mr Nicholas’ license for four weeks or a fine of $300.00 would be appropriate.

Mr Nicholas for his part submitted that a fine of $300.00 would be more appropriate.

Reasons for Penalty:

The breach is in mid-range and did cause LOKI BROGDEN to break but there was not a pronounced movement by Mr Nicholas. He believed that he was holding his line and unfortunately for him he was mistaken in that belief.

The Committee believes however that taking all of the evidence into account that it is appropriate to deal with this matter by way of a fine and that a fine of $300.00 is appropriate.

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: 03b4d854c480156433b436bf32d51207

informantnumber: A3714

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge: Careless Driving

plea: denied

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 03/10/2014

hearing_title: Auckland TC 10 October 2014 - R 5

charge:

facts:

Following the running of THE MANGOES RESORT HANDICAP TROT an Information was lodged pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b) by Stipendiary Steward Mr STR Mulcay against Licensed Horseman Mr M Nicholas alleging that Mr Nicholas drove carelessly entering the first turn when shifting TE KOUKA BREEZE inwards which resulted in MY MUMS ASTAR being forced down onto LOKI BROGDEN which was checked and galloped losing its chance.

Rule 869(3)(b) provides:
“That no horseman in any Race shall drive carelessly.”

Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed that passing the winning post the first time, Mr Nicholas on TE KOUKA BREEZE was outside of MY MUMS ASTAR and he showed that there was sufficient room on the inside for LOKI BROGDEN to move in there. He said that Mr Mangos had shifted Mr Nicholas out as he was entitled to do over the first 200 metres or so and that Mr Mangos was entitled to the one one position. Mr Ferguson had moved in with LOKI BROGDEN and he then said that Mr Nicholas tried to move back inwards and in doing so pushed MY MUMS ASTAR onto LOKI BROGDEN which ran out of room and broke.

Mr Nicholas then asked Mr Mulcay if Mr Mangos was entitled to be in the one one position and he said that the Stewards were of the opinion that he was because he had eased Mr Nicholas out and had taken that position. Mr Nicholas then asked if Mr Mangos could come out and force him wider when Mr Mangos’ horse was behind him. Mr Mulcay said that the Stewards' view is that there can be shifting inwards and outwards over the first 200 or so metres so long as it was done with safety. He said that Mr Mangos had achieved this and in answer to a further question Mr Mulcay said that Mr Nicholas persisted with pushing Mr Mangos back down and this caused the problem.

Mr Ferguson as the driver of LOKI BROGDEN then gave evidence and he said that he drew 1 on the 10 metres mark and that he galloped on the first turn and the reason for that was that he ran out of room. He said that prior to the first turn he had got inside Mr Mangos’ horse and it had come down on him and he had simply run out of room and his horse had broken and lost its chance.

Mr Mulcay then asked Mr Ferguson if he had enough room to go forward and he confirmed that he did so.

Mr Mangos then gave evidence as the driver of MY MUMS ASTAR. He said that he moved off the fence shortly after the start and as he got to the winning post he was in the one one position. He said that he was in front of Mr Nicholas when he came out and that Mr Nicholas then came back in on him and tried to push him back down. He said that that was obvious on the film because the head of Mr Nicholas’ horse was turned inwards. Mr Mangos said that as a result of the movement Mr Nicholas knocked Mr Ferguson down. Mr Mangos also said that he believed that although Mr Nicholas may have been following the one out horse earlier on he then continued to try to follow it and in doing so he had come in too far and had caused the problem.

Mr Nicholas asked Mr Mangos if he was aware that LOKI BROGDEN was down on his inside and Mr Mangos said that there was plenty of room for LOKI BROGDEN but that room was closed off by Mr Nicholas’ movement.

Mr Nicholas gave evidence as the driver of TE KOUKA BREEZE. He said that he was racing in the one one going past the winning post and he was pushed out by Mr Mangos. He said he was merely trying to hold his ground and he was following BURT MUNRO which was in front of him. He said he was simply maintaining his line and that he was not moving inwards. He said he did not believe that Mr Mangos was entitled to the one one position and that he in fact was in the one one position and he also believed that there was not sufficient room for Mr Ferguson to go up on the inside.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

Summary by Mr Mulcay:

Mr Mulcay said by way of summary that Mr Mangos had been able to shift out to one out in the running line. He said that Mr Nicholas had been pushed out and Mr Mangos was entitled to be where he was and that Mr Nicholas then tried to follow the horse in front of him which was BURT MUNRO. That horse had moved down to the one one position which it was entitled to do and that Mr Nicholas had made a mistake in trying to follow it. He said that there were two horses on its inside at the time and Mr Nicholas’ movement caused LOKI BROGDEN to be checked and to break.

Summary by Mr Nicholas:

Mr Nicholas said that he had the right to hold his ground and he believed that Mr Ferguson had anticipated Mr Mangos forcing Mr Nicholas three wide. He said that there was not sufficient room there.

reasonsfordecision:

The Committee has watched the films several times and have watched them in slow motion. We have also listened to the evidence of the parties.
We are satisfied that Mr Mangos got into the one one position which he was entitled to and that Mr Ferguson had room to move up on the inside. The evidence shows that shortly after entering the bend Mr Ferguson’s horse broke as a result of pressure from the outside which we have assessed to be a direct result of Mr Nicholas shifting inwards when not entitled to do so. This is, in our view, confirmed by the films and particularly by the rear view.
The Committee is satisfied that Mr Nicholas has driven carelessly.

Decision:

The charge is proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a suspension of eight drives or a $400.00 fine. He said that this incident was in the mid-range and that Mr Nicholas did have a good record. Mr Mulcay submitted that a suspension of Mr Nicholas’ license for four weeks or a fine of $300.00 would be appropriate.

Mr Nicholas for his part submitted that a fine of $300.00 would be more appropriate.

reasonsforpenalty:

The breach is in mid-range and did cause LOKI BROGDEN to break but there was not a pronounced movement by Mr Nicholas. He believed that he was holding his line and unfortunately for him he was mistaken in that belief.

The Committee believes however that taking all of the evidence into account that it is appropriate to deal with this matter by way of a fine and that a fine of $300.00 is appropriate.

penalty:

The Committee imposes a fine of $300.00 on Mr Nicholas.

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: 869(3)(b)

Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Nichollas - Licensed Horseman

Otherperson: Mr Ferguson - Driver of LOKI BROGDEN, Mr Mangos - Driver of MY MUMS ASTAR

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: 5af0a901b45c7fd0d49c7a03b2869cf2

race_expapproval:

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race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: R5

submittochair:

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meetdate: 10/10/2014

meet_title: Auckland TC - 10 October 2014

meet_expappcomment:

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meet_chair: BScott

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