Auckland TC 12 July 2019 – R 1 – Chair, Mr B J Scott
ID: JCA11674
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 12 July 2019
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
ASmith
Race Date:
2019/07/12
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
The charge is upheld.
Penalty:
This Committee orders that Mr Poutama's Horsemans Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing tonight up to the conclusion of racing on the 19th of July 2019.
Facts:
Following the running of the S.O.T.B. GOES R50+25K FRANKLIN CUP 19/7 MBL PCE an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr A Poutama alleging that Mr Poutama as the Driver of CORBEAUX failed to make sufficient effort in preventing his horse from shifting inwards near the the 2000 metres mark and checking MAC PAUA (Driver J Abernethy).
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Poutama was present at the Hearing and he advised the Committee that he understood the Rule. He also said that although he initially admitted the breach he had changed his mind and now did not admit it.
The Committee explained to Mr Poutama the procedure at a defended hearing including his rights of cross examination.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films. He showed where CORBEAUX started from the outside of the front line and MAC PAUA started from the unruly position. By the time both horses were approaching the Winning Post and prior to the first bend CORBEAUX was racing 3 out and Mac Paua was on its inside but moving into the gap on the inside of CORBEAUX.
Mr Muirhead said that CORBEAUX was laying in when the horses were racing towards the first bend but despite that Mr Poutama asked his horse to go forward. He said that CORBEAUX continued on its inwards path and this resulted in there being insufficient room for MAC PAUA and as a result of contact MAC PAUA broke and lost its chance.
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Abernethy started calling to Mr Poutama for room about 50 metres before contact was made. The Committee advised Mr Muirhead that Mr Abernethy should be giving that evidence but Mr Muirhead said he was giving it as his evidence because from the Stewards' position he not only had a very good view of the incident but he also heard Mr Abernethy calling out.
Mr Muirhead then said that Mr Poutama tried to pull away at the last moment but it was too late and the damage was done.
Mr Poutama then had his opportunity to cross examine Mr Muirhead and he asked him if he thought that he (Mr Poutama) was not trying hard enough to relieve the pressure and Mr Muirhead answered yes to that question.
In answer to a further question Mr Muirhead said that Mr Abernethy was entitled to be where he was and that Mr Poutama in choosing to hunt forwards and angle in was careless.
Mr Poutama asked Mr Muirhead if Mr Stormont driving CHILLYSJUSTAMASTER down on the inside had come out and contributed to the incident. Mr Muirhead said that he had not moved out.
Mr Abernethy then gave evidence . He confirmed that he drove MAC PAUA and when asked why his horse broke approaching the first bend he said that the horse on his outside kept moving down and he ran out of room and broke. He said he started calling out about 50 metres earlier but the horse on his outside kept moving down. He said he was entitled to be in the position he was in and he also advised that there was no pressure from the inside horse.
He said Mr Poutama was driving his horse forward despite it continuing to run in and ultimately it made contact with the legs of his horse and it broke and lost its chance.
Mr Poutama then asked Mr Abernethy about controlling a horse when it is on one rein. Mr Abernethy could not comment on Mr Poutama's horse.
Mr Abernethy said in answer to a question from Mr Muirhead that Mr Poutama and he were both going for the same gap but his horse was the worst affected prior to the bend.
The Committee then asked Mr Abernethy if Mr Poutama had called out to say he was in trouble with his horse and he said no. The Committee then asked Mr Abernethy if he pulled out of going into the gap and he said he had to.
Mr Poutama then gave evidence and he said that when his horse began to hang in he tried to take corrective action. He said that his horse got on one rein and that he had no control with the right rein. He then said that he had to decide what to do and his options were firstly to try and pull out but because his horse was hanging badly he could see it running inwards further and he risked causing an accident and knocking Mr Abernethy's horse over or secondly going forward and trying to get ahead of Mr Abernethy and then hopefully he could straighten his horse. He thought that the second option was the better of the two and he chose that. He said that he had no control of the right rein and that all his force was on the left rein. He said his horse had hung in again in the final 400 metres.
Mr Poutama in answer to a question from Mr Muirhead said his intention when he left the Mobile Barrier was to go forward and try and get a better position. His horse started to hang in and he said that he had been told that when a horse gets on one rein he should run the bit through its mouth to try to straighten it. He did that but it did not work.
He said to Mr Muirhead that he understood it was careless and that it was interference but what else could he do. He said there was nothing else he could have done.
Mr Muirhead in summing up said that the Stewards believed that Mr Poutama was prepared to take a risk. He should have taken a more cautious approach and he must be seen to take corrective action prior to the interference happening.
Mr Poutama in summing up said that there was nothing else he could do. He said his left arm was sore because of the pressure of pulling hard on the left rein.
In answer to a question from the Committee Mr Poutama said that he had driven CORBEAUX once before but that was a long time ago.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee reviewed the evidence and the race films. We reviewed the films several times and noted that just after the start CORBEAUX hung in and it appeared that Mr Poutama had to take corrective action then. It also hung in (albeit briefly) a short time after that. We believe that those were two warning signs for Mr Poutama some time before the actual incident.
We note that Mr Poutama chased his horse up firstly about 80 metres before the incident and secondly about 65 metres before. He was chasing his horse up when it started to hang in and despite the call from Mr Abernethy (approximately 50 metres before the incident) and despite his horse's racing manners he contiued to drive forwards. We believe that he was careless in doing so.
Mr Poutama tried to relieve the pressure but at the point that he did so it was too little too late. The carelessness had happened before then.
We agree with Mr Muirhead in that Mr Poutama took a risk and it didn't pay off.
For those reasons we find the charge proved.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead in his penalty submissions referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a penalty of a 10 drive suspension or a $500.00 fine. He said that the incident was in the mid range of seriousness but that the aggravating factor was that MAC PAUA lost its chance in the race.
He said that Mr Poutama had a clear record and said that by way of mitigation the horse's racing manners should be taken into account.
He submitted that an 8 day suspension of Mr Poutama's Drivers Licence would be appropriate.
Mr Poutama said that he felt 'hard done by and what else could he do".
The Committee asked Mr Poutama if he wanted a deferral of his suspension as he was entiled to under Rule 1304 but he advised the Committee that any suspension could start straight away.
Reasons for Penalty:
In assessing penalty the Committee notes the starting point penalties set out in the JCA Guidelines. We also have the benefit of JCA Penalty Schedules for penalties imposed on other Drivers under this Rule.
We have taken into account the aggravating factor of MAC PAUA losing its chance and we have taken into account the mitigating factor in relation to Mr Poutama's horse's racing manners.
In our view Mr Poutama is an experienced horseman who pressed on regardless when he should have heeded the warnings that his horse had given him and taken a more cautious approach.
We note that Mr Poutama has 6 drives tonight and he had 7 last week. We had considered a 2 day suspension but that penalty might have been higher than the starting point penalty in the Guidelines or indeed the penaty asked for by Mr Muirhead. We have therefore reduced it to one day.
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: 21e118f573bc34a05980ddced07954e4
informantnumber: A10734
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 17/07/2019
hearing_title: Auckland TC 12 July 2019 - R 1 - Chair, Mr B J Scott
charge:
facts:
Following the running of the S.O.T.B. GOES R50+25K FRANKLIN CUP 19/7 MBL PCE an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward Mr JM Muirhead against Open Horseman Mr A Poutama alleging that Mr Poutama as the Driver of CORBEAUX failed to make sufficient effort in preventing his horse from shifting inwards near the the 2000 metres mark and checking MAC PAUA (Driver J Abernethy).
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Poutama was present at the Hearing and he advised the Committee that he understood the Rule. He also said that although he initially admitted the breach he had changed his mind and now did not admit it.
The Committee explained to Mr Poutama the procedure at a defended hearing including his rights of cross examination.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films. He showed where CORBEAUX started from the outside of the front line and MAC PAUA started from the unruly position. By the time both horses were approaching the Winning Post and prior to the first bend CORBEAUX was racing 3 out and Mac Paua was on its inside but moving into the gap on the inside of CORBEAUX.
Mr Muirhead said that CORBEAUX was laying in when the horses were racing towards the first bend but despite that Mr Poutama asked his horse to go forward. He said that CORBEAUX continued on its inwards path and this resulted in there being insufficient room for MAC PAUA and as a result of contact MAC PAUA broke and lost its chance.
Mr Muirhead said that Mr Abernethy started calling to Mr Poutama for room about 50 metres before contact was made. The Committee advised Mr Muirhead that Mr Abernethy should be giving that evidence but Mr Muirhead said he was giving it as his evidence because from the Stewards' position he not only had a very good view of the incident but he also heard Mr Abernethy calling out.
Mr Muirhead then said that Mr Poutama tried to pull away at the last moment but it was too late and the damage was done.
Mr Poutama then had his opportunity to cross examine Mr Muirhead and he asked him if he thought that he (Mr Poutama) was not trying hard enough to relieve the pressure and Mr Muirhead answered yes to that question.
In answer to a further question Mr Muirhead said that Mr Abernethy was entitled to be where he was and that Mr Poutama in choosing to hunt forwards and angle in was careless.
Mr Poutama asked Mr Muirhead if Mr Stormont driving CHILLYSJUSTAMASTER down on the inside had come out and contributed to the incident. Mr Muirhead said that he had not moved out.
Mr Abernethy then gave evidence . He confirmed that he drove MAC PAUA and when asked why his horse broke approaching the first bend he said that the horse on his outside kept moving down and he ran out of room and broke. He said he started calling out about 50 metres earlier but the horse on his outside kept moving down. He said he was entitled to be in the position he was in and he also advised that there was no pressure from the inside horse.
He said Mr Poutama was driving his horse forward despite it continuing to run in and ultimately it made contact with the legs of his horse and it broke and lost its chance.
Mr Poutama then asked Mr Abernethy about controlling a horse when it is on one rein. Mr Abernethy could not comment on Mr Poutama's horse.
Mr Abernethy said in answer to a question from Mr Muirhead that Mr Poutama and he were both going for the same gap but his horse was the worst affected prior to the bend.
The Committee then asked Mr Abernethy if Mr Poutama had called out to say he was in trouble with his horse and he said no. The Committee then asked Mr Abernethy if he pulled out of going into the gap and he said he had to.
Mr Poutama then gave evidence and he said that when his horse began to hang in he tried to take corrective action. He said that his horse got on one rein and that he had no control with the right rein. He then said that he had to decide what to do and his options were firstly to try and pull out but because his horse was hanging badly he could see it running inwards further and he risked causing an accident and knocking Mr Abernethy's horse over or secondly going forward and trying to get ahead of Mr Abernethy and then hopefully he could straighten his horse. He thought that the second option was the better of the two and he chose that. He said that he had no control of the right rein and that all his force was on the left rein. He said his horse had hung in again in the final 400 metres.
Mr Poutama in answer to a question from Mr Muirhead said his intention when he left the Mobile Barrier was to go forward and try and get a better position. His horse started to hang in and he said that he had been told that when a horse gets on one rein he should run the bit through its mouth to try to straighten it. He did that but it did not work.
He said to Mr Muirhead that he understood it was careless and that it was interference but what else could he do. He said there was nothing else he could have done.
Mr Muirhead in summing up said that the Stewards believed that Mr Poutama was prepared to take a risk. He should have taken a more cautious approach and he must be seen to take corrective action prior to the interference happening.
Mr Poutama in summing up said that there was nothing else he could do. He said his left arm was sore because of the pressure of pulling hard on the left rein.
In answer to a question from the Committee Mr Poutama said that he had driven CORBEAUX once before but that was a long time ago.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee reviewed the evidence and the race films. We reviewed the films several times and noted that just after the start CORBEAUX hung in and it appeared that Mr Poutama had to take corrective action then. It also hung in (albeit briefly) a short time after that. We believe that those were two warning signs for Mr Poutama some time before the actual incident.
We note that Mr Poutama chased his horse up firstly about 80 metres before the incident and secondly about 65 metres before. He was chasing his horse up when it started to hang in and despite the call from Mr Abernethy (approximately 50 metres before the incident) and despite his horse's racing manners he contiued to drive forwards. We believe that he was careless in doing so.
Mr Poutama tried to relieve the pressure but at the point that he did so it was too little too late. The carelessness had happened before then.
We agree with Mr Muirhead in that Mr Poutama took a risk and it didn't pay off.
For those reasons we find the charge proved.
Decision:
The charge is upheld.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead in his penalty submissions referred to the JCA Guidelines which provide for a penalty of a 10 drive suspension or a $500.00 fine. He said that the incident was in the mid range of seriousness but that the aggravating factor was that MAC PAUA lost its chance in the race.
He said that Mr Poutama had a clear record and said that by way of mitigation the horse's racing manners should be taken into account.
He submitted that an 8 day suspension of Mr Poutama's Drivers Licence would be appropriate.
Mr Poutama said that he felt 'hard done by and what else could he do".
The Committee asked Mr Poutama if he wanted a deferral of his suspension as he was entiled to under Rule 1304 but he advised the Committee that any suspension could start straight away.
reasonsforpenalty:
In assessing penalty the Committee notes the starting point penalties set out in the JCA Guidelines. We also have the benefit of JCA Penalty Schedules for penalties imposed on other Drivers under this Rule.
We have taken into account the aggravating factor of MAC PAUA losing its chance and we have taken into account the mitigating factor in relation to Mr Poutama's horse's racing manners.
In our view Mr Poutama is an experienced horseman who pressed on regardless when he should have heeded the warnings that his horse had given him and taken a more cautious approach.
We note that Mr Poutama has 6 drives tonight and he had 7 last week. We had considered a 2 day suspension but that penalty might have been higher than the starting point penalty in the Guidelines or indeed the penaty asked for by Mr Muirhead. We have therefore reduced it to one day.
penalty:
This Committee orders that Mr Poutama's Horsemans Licence is suspended from the conclusion of racing tonight up to the conclusion of racing on the 19th of July 2019.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr JM Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr A Poutama - Open Horseman
Otherperson: J Abernethy-Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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