NZ Metro TC 20 March 2015 – R 7 (instigating a protest)
ID: JCA11540
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 20 March 2015
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2015/03/20
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
The protest was dismissed. It was ordered that dividends and stakes be paid in accordance with the judge’s official placings.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, PGG Wrightson NZ Breeders Stakes (Group 1), an information instigating a protest was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against WILLOW (N C Rasmussen), placed 2nd by the judge, on the ground that it “shifted in on the final turn which resulted in its sulky wheel protruding inside the marker line for more that 30 metres”.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(7B) Where any horse or its sulky wheel moves inside the track marker line for more than 30 metres in a race the horse shall be disqualified from that race except where:
(a) it is established that the breach was caused by interference by another horse or horseman; or
(b) it is established that the horse did not gain any advantage from the breach in its finishing place or position.
Ms Rasmussen was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she was representing the connections of WILLOW at the protest hearing.
The judge’s official placing's for the race were:
1st 3 Venus Serena
2nd 12 Willow
3rd 5 Pemberton Shard
4th 2 Here We Go Again
5th 13 Royal Counsel
The official margins were 1 length, 1 length, 2¼ lengths and a nose.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McIntyre showed a video replay of the race as the field neared the final turn. He pointed out WILLOW, driven by Ms Rasmussen, improving on the inside in a 3-back position. Mr McIntyre submitted that there was room on the inside of ROYAL COUNSEL (G J Lee) for Ms Rasmussen to improve. From that point, the inside sulky wheel of WILLOW protruded inside a track marker and continued inside four more markers, a distance of approximately 37 metres, he submitted. The relevant markers are 9.4 metres apart.
Mr McIntyre called Mr Lee to give evidence to the hearing. He confirmed that there had initially been room for Ms Rasmussen to improve up on his inside, as he had moved out. He was still only one out and was then tightened from the outside by SELL A BIT (S R McNally) and the outside runners coming down.
Mr McIntyre referred to the position of the wheel of the trailing horse, THE FASCINATOR (A G Herlihy), in relation to Mr Lee’s inside sulky wheel and submitted that, arguably, there was not sufficient room for Ms Rasmussen on Mr Lee’s inside to come back inside the markers.
Ms Rasmussen said that she was aware that she was inside the pylons but, at the very top of the straight, not only ROYAL COUNSEL but also the two runners outside that runner had all shifted down as they were getting tired and, as a consequence, if she had attempted to “check up the track” she would likely have contacted ROYAL COUNSEL’s near hind leg with her sulky wheel. She submitted that, in her view, no horse or driver was at fault. NEW YEARS JAY, outside the leader, was laying in at that point and THE FASCINATOR, which was trailing the leader, was hard against the pylons. ROYAL COUNSEL may have followed NEW YEARS JAY down, Ms Rasmussen said. In short, she said, she had no option but to remain inside the track markers.
It was put to the parties by the Committee that Ms Rasmussen’s wheel had run directly over the last track marker rather than inside it. Ms Rasmussen agreed but Mr McIntyre said that it was his view that the sulky wheel had been inside that marker.
Mr McIntyre submitted that the issue for the Committee to determine was whether Ms Rasmussen had the opportunity to correct her horse from inside the pylons. The video replay suggested that it was impossible for Ms Rasmussen to correct her horse back outside the marker line, he said.
Mr Lee acknowledged that his horse, ROYAL COUNSEL, was correctly following the line of NEW YEARS JAY. There had been “general tightening” that happened in most races, he said.
Reasons for Decision:
The Rule requires the Committee to disqualify WILLOW if it has been proved that its sulky wheel moved inside the track marker line for a distance of more than 30 metres rounding the final turn, subject to the two provisos in the Rule. The sulky wheel could clearly be seen to move inside four pylons. It appeared that the wheel may have run over the fifth pylon rather than inside it. If it had run inside it, the total distance would have been 37.6 metres. If it had run over it, the distance would have been 28.2 metres. However, the Committee arrived at its decision without having to determine this issue.
The Rule gives the Committee a discretion to not disqualify where the breach was caused by interference by another horse or horseman. It was apparent to the Committee that WILLOW was lugging in and its sulky wheel did move inside the track marker line for a distance. It was equally apparent that Ms Rasmussen did attempt to rectify this (she could clearly be seen to angle her horse’s head outwards) but was unable to move back outside the marker line because there was insufficient room for her to do so, the outside horses having moved down on the bend. We were satisfied from the video evidence and the evidence of Ms Rasmussen and also Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre that this was the case.
The Committee was further satisfied that this was not a case where Ms Rasmussen had attempted to gain an advantage by taking a run that was not available to her. The video replay showed that there was a clear gap for her to improve into when ROYAL COUNSEL moved out to the one-out line, but her horse had then lugged in, after taking that gap, and moved inside the track marker line. Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre both confirmed this.
The Committee is satisfied that the facts of this case come within Rule 869 (7B) (a) – that is to say, the breach was caused by interference by another horse. This was not “interference” in the normally understood racing context, but it was interference nonetheless in the sense that Ms Rasmussen’s obvious attempts to correct her horse were hindered or impeded by the general downward movement of the outside runners, leaving her insufficient room to move back outside the markers, which was confirmed by both Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre.
Having made that finding, the Committee has a discretion as to whether WILLOW should be disqualified. For the reasons set out above, we exercise that discretion in favour of not disqualifying the horse.
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: 1cd97259093f732aa198467d9d2321f1
informantnumber: A4431
horsename: Willow
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 20/03/2015
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 20 March 2015 - R 7 (instigating a protest)
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, PGG Wrightson NZ Breeders Stakes (Group 1), an information instigating a protest was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against WILLOW (N C Rasmussen), placed 2nd by the judge, on the ground that it “shifted in on the final turn which resulted in its sulky wheel protruding inside the marker line for more that 30 metres”.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(7B) Where any horse or its sulky wheel moves inside the track marker line for more than 30 metres in a race the horse shall be disqualified from that race except where:
(a) it is established that the breach was caused by interference by another horse or horseman; or
(b) it is established that the horse did not gain any advantage from the breach in its finishing place or position.
Ms Rasmussen was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she was representing the connections of WILLOW at the protest hearing.
The judge’s official placing's for the race were:
1st 3 Venus Serena
2nd 12 Willow
3rd 5 Pemberton Shard
4th 2 Here We Go Again
5th 13 Royal Counsel
The official margins were 1 length, 1 length, 2¼ lengths and a nose.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McIntyre showed a video replay of the race as the field neared the final turn. He pointed out WILLOW, driven by Ms Rasmussen, improving on the inside in a 3-back position. Mr McIntyre submitted that there was room on the inside of ROYAL COUNSEL (G J Lee) for Ms Rasmussen to improve. From that point, the inside sulky wheel of WILLOW protruded inside a track marker and continued inside four more markers, a distance of approximately 37 metres, he submitted. The relevant markers are 9.4 metres apart.
Mr McIntyre called Mr Lee to give evidence to the hearing. He confirmed that there had initially been room for Ms Rasmussen to improve up on his inside, as he had moved out. He was still only one out and was then tightened from the outside by SELL A BIT (S R McNally) and the outside runners coming down.
Mr McIntyre referred to the position of the wheel of the trailing horse, THE FASCINATOR (A G Herlihy), in relation to Mr Lee’s inside sulky wheel and submitted that, arguably, there was not sufficient room for Ms Rasmussen on Mr Lee’s inside to come back inside the markers.
Ms Rasmussen said that she was aware that she was inside the pylons but, at the very top of the straight, not only ROYAL COUNSEL but also the two runners outside that runner had all shifted down as they were getting tired and, as a consequence, if she had attempted to “check up the track” she would likely have contacted ROYAL COUNSEL’s near hind leg with her sulky wheel. She submitted that, in her view, no horse or driver was at fault. NEW YEARS JAY, outside the leader, was laying in at that point and THE FASCINATOR, which was trailing the leader, was hard against the pylons. ROYAL COUNSEL may have followed NEW YEARS JAY down, Ms Rasmussen said. In short, she said, she had no option but to remain inside the track markers.
It was put to the parties by the Committee that Ms Rasmussen’s wheel had run directly over the last track marker rather than inside it. Ms Rasmussen agreed but Mr McIntyre said that it was his view that the sulky wheel had been inside that marker.
Mr McIntyre submitted that the issue for the Committee to determine was whether Ms Rasmussen had the opportunity to correct her horse from inside the pylons. The video replay suggested that it was impossible for Ms Rasmussen to correct her horse back outside the marker line, he said.
Mr Lee acknowledged that his horse, ROYAL COUNSEL, was correctly following the line of NEW YEARS JAY. There had been “general tightening” that happened in most races, he said.
reasonsfordecision:
The Rule requires the Committee to disqualify WILLOW if it has been proved that its sulky wheel moved inside the track marker line for a distance of more than 30 metres rounding the final turn, subject to the two provisos in the Rule. The sulky wheel could clearly be seen to move inside four pylons. It appeared that the wheel may have run over the fifth pylon rather than inside it. If it had run inside it, the total distance would have been 37.6 metres. If it had run over it, the distance would have been 28.2 metres. However, the Committee arrived at its decision without having to determine this issue.
The Rule gives the Committee a discretion to not disqualify where the breach was caused by interference by another horse or horseman. It was apparent to the Committee that WILLOW was lugging in and its sulky wheel did move inside the track marker line for a distance. It was equally apparent that Ms Rasmussen did attempt to rectify this (she could clearly be seen to angle her horse’s head outwards) but was unable to move back outside the marker line because there was insufficient room for her to do so, the outside horses having moved down on the bend. We were satisfied from the video evidence and the evidence of Ms Rasmussen and also Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre that this was the case.
The Committee was further satisfied that this was not a case where Ms Rasmussen had attempted to gain an advantage by taking a run that was not available to her. The video replay showed that there was a clear gap for her to improve into when ROYAL COUNSEL moved out to the one-out line, but her horse had then lugged in, after taking that gap, and moved inside the track marker line. Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre both confirmed this.
The Committee is satisfied that the facts of this case come within Rule 869 (7B) (a) – that is to say, the breach was caused by interference by another horse. This was not “interference” in the normally understood racing context, but it was interference nonetheless in the sense that Ms Rasmussen’s obvious attempts to correct her horse were hindered or impeded by the general downward movement of the outside runners, leaving her insufficient room to move back outside the markers, which was confirmed by both Mr Lee and Mr McIntyre.
Having made that finding, the Committee has a discretion as to whether WILLOW should be disqualified. For the reasons set out above, we exercise that discretion in favour of not disqualifying the horse.
Decision:
The protest was dismissed. It was ordered that dividends and stakes be paid in accordance with the judge’s official placings.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Protest
Rules: 869(7B)
Informant: Mr N G McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: G J Lee, Licensed Open Horseman
Respondent: N C Rasmussen, Licensed Open Driver
StipendSteward:
raceid: 744155b90553326d0b798d30de2f2e2b
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: b63336be0a18ef551f6aa73c1ee12779
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 20/03/2015
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 20 March 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC