Manukau TC 1 June 2012 – R 11 (instigating a protest)
ID: JCA11990
Meet Title:
Manukau TC - 1 June 2012
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2012/06/01
Race Number:
R11
Decision:
The protest 2nd against 1st was upheld and MOMENT OF TRUTH was relegated to 2nd placing. The protest 6th against 1st was dismissed. As a consequence of the relegation, the amended result for the race is as follows:
1st 3 Emma Hamilton
2nd 5 Moment of Truth
3rd 1 Silver Stream
4th 4 Oto Invasion
5th 6 Meyer Lansky
It was ordered that dividends and stake monies be paid in accordance with that amended result.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 11, an information instigating protests was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J M Muirhead, by EMMA HAMILTON (M W McKendry), placed 2nd by the judge, and PATIENCEOFASAINT (G J Noakes), placed 6th (last) by the judge, against MOMENT OF TRUTH (S J Lawson), placed 1st by the judge, on the grounds of “interference at the entrance to the home straight”.
Mr R J Lawson, trainer of MOMENT OF TRUTH, was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he was representing the connections of that horse at the protest hearing. Part-owner, Mr L J Purvis, was also present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(8) The Judicial Committee may in addition to any other penalty which may be imposed pursuant to Rule 1003 thereof place any horse which:
(a) may have gained an advantage by any conduct or interference prohibited by any preceding provision of this Rule and/or
(b) may have interfered with, or whose horseman may have interfered with, the progress or chance of any other horse or horses –
immediately after any horse from which it may have gained an advantage or whose chances or progress may have been affected thereby.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead said that the margin between 1st and 2nd at the finish was 0.7 length (¾ length). The incident took place in the final 300 metres of the race. MOMENT OF TRUTH was leading the field approaching the home turn. EMMA HAMILTON was on its back, and immediately behind it was PATIENCEOFASAINT. Mr Muirhead identified those runners on the video replay. He pointed out MOMENT OF TRUTH break for 3-4 strides which, he said, was sufficient to check EMMA HAMILTON, racing in the trail. As the horses were recovering from this incident, PATIENCEOFASAINT had improved up on the inside of EMMA HAMILTON, which was trying to avoid the galloping MOMENT OF TRUTH, had run out of room and had galloped.
The Stewards were asking the Committee to determine whether MOMENT OF TRUTH had caused interference to the extent that it had affected the chances of EMMA HAMILTON and PATIENCEOFASAINT, Mr Muirhead said.
Mr McKendry said that his horse was travelling “very good” at the time when the leader had galloped and come back on him. His mare got “jammed up” and he had to take a hold of her. He said that he believed that the incident had cost the horse “a couple of lengths”. She did not go off stride but she “all but did”, he said. He had to take hold of her at a crucial part of the race, he said, and he believed that it did “cost her”. There was no contact with MOMENT OF TRUTH but he had contacted SILVER STREAM (A G Herlihy) on his outside.
Mr Noakes said that he saw MOMENT OF TRUTH go into a gallop and Mr McKendry “came off”. As he did so, he put the legs of his horse inside of Mr McKendry’s sulky. MOMENT OF TRUTH then came back down into a trot but, by that time, Mr McKendry was back in his position. Mr Noakes stated that his horse was forced over a couple of markers, clipped one and broke. At the time he was “travelling OK for him”, Mr Noakes said. He had given the horse a “flick” with the whip and it had started to improve. He felt it was “going to run home OK”.
Mr Lawson submitted that Mr McKendry was not going to get out of the trail until the passing lane – some time after the incident occurred. Mr McKendry still got the passing lane run when he would have done in any event. He was not able to improve on the outside of MOMENT OF TRUTH as SILVER STREAM was on its outside. He accepted that Mr McKendry had to “pull back on his horse” resulting in a “modicum of interference”. He submitted that the Committee had to decide whether the interference was sufficient to make a difference to 1st and 2nd placings.
He said that Mr Noakes had gone into a gap that he should not have gone into. He demonstrated this on the rear-on video replay. Mr Noakes responded that, had MOMENT OF TRUTH not broken, he would have followed Mr McKendry into the passing lane. Mr Lawson submitted that PATIENCEOFASAINT had galloped after the interference had taken place.
Mr Muirhead showed a video replay from another angle which, he submitted, showed that when MOMENT OF TRUTH galloped, Mr McKendry took hold of his horse and it lost momentum and lost a length or more. He had gone back and come out so that PATIENCEOFASAINT had to go up on the inside of Mr McKendry. Mr McKendry’s horse had been travelling well, had been checked and pulled back. It then recovered and was forced to make up lost ground when it should have been hard on the back of the leader, Mr Muirhead said.
Mr Lawson submitted that Mr Noakes had, at no stage, been required to take hold of PATIENCEOFASAINT. Mr Muirhead submitted that that horse would not have been checked if the incident had not occurred. Its chances were extinguished, he said.
Mr S J Lawson stated that it could be seen that he was “just sitting” on his horse, whereas Mr McKendry was hitting his horse which was doing its best. MOMENT OF TRUTH could have won by a greater margin, he submitted.
Mr R J Lawson disputed that Mr McKendry had lost 2 lengths when he was still hard on the back of the leader. He did, however, readily concede that Mr McKendry had been forced to restrain. Mr McKendry maintained that he was not hard on the back of the leader as alleged by Mr Lawson.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee had listened to the evidence and submissions of the parties and had carefully viewed the various video replays shown to the hearing.
As far as the protest 2nd against 1st was concerned, the Committee found that there had been interference by MOMENT OF TRUTH to EMMA HAMILTON, as the field approached the entrance to the home straight, when the former broke for several strides forcing Mr McKendry (EMMA HAMILTON), who was racing hard on the leader’s back, to restrain and, the Committee was satisfied, lose approximately 2 lengths in the process. Mr Lawson freely acknowledged that Mr McKendry had been forced to restrain but disputed that Mr McKendry had lost 2 lengths as a result. In addition to losing that ground, the Committee was satisfied that EMMA HAMILTON had lost momentum at a critical stage of the race. The Committee was satisfied that the chances or progress of that runner were affected and the Committee was satisfied that the placings of the two horses should be reversed as a consequence.
As far as the protest 6th against 1st was concerned, the Committee was not satisfied to a sufficient degree that the breaking of PATIENCEOFASAINT could be attributed to the actions of MOMENT OF TRUTH. Furthermore, the Committee was, likewise, not satisfied to the required standard that the chances or progress of that runner were affected as a result of any interference it may have received.
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: 34aa67776f092ee80f64d992193944a6
informantnumber: 13431
horsename: Moment of Truth
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 24/05/2012
hearing_title: Manukau TC 1 June 2012 - R 11 (instigating a protest)
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 11, an information instigating protests was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J M Muirhead, by EMMA HAMILTON (M W McKendry), placed 2nd by the judge, and PATIENCEOFASAINT (G J Noakes), placed 6th (last) by the judge, against MOMENT OF TRUTH (S J Lawson), placed 1st by the judge, on the grounds of “interference at the entrance to the home straight”.
Mr R J Lawson, trainer of MOMENT OF TRUTH, was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he was representing the connections of that horse at the protest hearing. Part-owner, Mr L J Purvis, was also present.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(8) The Judicial Committee may in addition to any other penalty which may be imposed pursuant to Rule 1003 thereof place any horse which:
(a) may have gained an advantage by any conduct or interference prohibited by any preceding provision of this Rule and/or
(b) may have interfered with, or whose horseman may have interfered with, the progress or chance of any other horse or horses –
immediately after any horse from which it may have gained an advantage or whose chances or progress may have been affected thereby.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead said that the margin between 1st and 2nd at the finish was 0.7 length (¾ length). The incident took place in the final 300 metres of the race. MOMENT OF TRUTH was leading the field approaching the home turn. EMMA HAMILTON was on its back, and immediately behind it was PATIENCEOFASAINT. Mr Muirhead identified those runners on the video replay. He pointed out MOMENT OF TRUTH break for 3-4 strides which, he said, was sufficient to check EMMA HAMILTON, racing in the trail. As the horses were recovering from this incident, PATIENCEOFASAINT had improved up on the inside of EMMA HAMILTON, which was trying to avoid the galloping MOMENT OF TRUTH, had run out of room and had galloped.
The Stewards were asking the Committee to determine whether MOMENT OF TRUTH had caused interference to the extent that it had affected the chances of EMMA HAMILTON and PATIENCEOFASAINT, Mr Muirhead said.
Mr McKendry said that his horse was travelling “very good” at the time when the leader had galloped and come back on him. His mare got “jammed up” and he had to take a hold of her. He said that he believed that the incident had cost the horse “a couple of lengths”. She did not go off stride but she “all but did”, he said. He had to take hold of her at a crucial part of the race, he said, and he believed that it did “cost her”. There was no contact with MOMENT OF TRUTH but he had contacted SILVER STREAM (A G Herlihy) on his outside.
Mr Noakes said that he saw MOMENT OF TRUTH go into a gallop and Mr McKendry “came off”. As he did so, he put the legs of his horse inside of Mr McKendry’s sulky. MOMENT OF TRUTH then came back down into a trot but, by that time, Mr McKendry was back in his position. Mr Noakes stated that his horse was forced over a couple of markers, clipped one and broke. At the time he was “travelling OK for him”, Mr Noakes said. He had given the horse a “flick” with the whip and it had started to improve. He felt it was “going to run home OK”.
Mr Lawson submitted that Mr McKendry was not going to get out of the trail until the passing lane – some time after the incident occurred. Mr McKendry still got the passing lane run when he would have done in any event. He was not able to improve on the outside of MOMENT OF TRUTH as SILVER STREAM was on its outside. He accepted that Mr McKendry had to “pull back on his horse” resulting in a “modicum of interference”. He submitted that the Committee had to decide whether the interference was sufficient to make a difference to 1st and 2nd placings.
He said that Mr Noakes had gone into a gap that he should not have gone into. He demonstrated this on the rear-on video replay. Mr Noakes responded that, had MOMENT OF TRUTH not broken, he would have followed Mr McKendry into the passing lane. Mr Lawson submitted that PATIENCEOFASAINT had galloped after the interference had taken place.
Mr Muirhead showed a video replay from another angle which, he submitted, showed that when MOMENT OF TRUTH galloped, Mr McKendry took hold of his horse and it lost momentum and lost a length or more. He had gone back and come out so that PATIENCEOFASAINT had to go up on the inside of Mr McKendry. Mr McKendry’s horse had been travelling well, had been checked and pulled back. It then recovered and was forced to make up lost ground when it should have been hard on the back of the leader, Mr Muirhead said.
Mr Lawson submitted that Mr Noakes had, at no stage, been required to take hold of PATIENCEOFASAINT. Mr Muirhead submitted that that horse would not have been checked if the incident had not occurred. Its chances were extinguished, he said.
Mr S J Lawson stated that it could be seen that he was “just sitting” on his horse, whereas Mr McKendry was hitting his horse which was doing its best. MOMENT OF TRUTH could have won by a greater margin, he submitted.
Mr R J Lawson disputed that Mr McKendry had lost 2 lengths when he was still hard on the back of the leader. He did, however, readily concede that Mr McKendry had been forced to restrain. Mr McKendry maintained that he was not hard on the back of the leader as alleged by Mr Lawson.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee had listened to the evidence and submissions of the parties and had carefully viewed the various video replays shown to the hearing.
As far as the protest 2nd against 1st was concerned, the Committee found that there had been interference by MOMENT OF TRUTH to EMMA HAMILTON, as the field approached the entrance to the home straight, when the former broke for several strides forcing Mr McKendry (EMMA HAMILTON), who was racing hard on the leader’s back, to restrain and, the Committee was satisfied, lose approximately 2 lengths in the process. Mr Lawson freely acknowledged that Mr McKendry had been forced to restrain but disputed that Mr McKendry had lost 2 lengths as a result. In addition to losing that ground, the Committee was satisfied that EMMA HAMILTON had lost momentum at a critical stage of the race. The Committee was satisfied that the chances or progress of that runner were affected and the Committee was satisfied that the placings of the two horses should be reversed as a consequence.
As far as the protest 6th against 1st was concerned, the Committee was not satisfied to a sufficient degree that the breaking of PATIENCEOFASAINT could be attributed to the actions of MOMENT OF TRUTH. Furthermore, the Committee was, likewise, not satisfied to the required standard that the chances or progress of that runner were affected as a result of any interference it may have received.
Decision:
The protest 2nd against 1st was upheld and MOMENT OF TRUTH was relegated to 2nd placing. The protest 6th against 1st was dismissed. As a consequence of the relegation, the amended result for the race is as follows:
1st 3 Emma Hamilton
2nd 5 Moment of Truth
3rd 1 Silver Stream
4th 4 Oto Invasion
5th 6 Meyer Lansky
It was ordered that dividends and stake monies be paid in accordance with that amended result.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Protest
Rules: 869(8)
Informant: J M Muirhead, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: G J Noakes, Licensed Graduation Driver, S J Lawson, Licensed Junior Driver, M W McKendry, Licensed Open Driver, L J Purvis, part-owner
Respondent: R J Lawson, Holder of Licence to Train
StipendSteward:
raceid: 1b41bf6cc3c9c377f94fcb67ac772a2d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R11
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: cc46ddf098ce6f1bfcb9f9351ec356d9
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 01/06/2012
meet_title: Manukau TC - 1 June 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: manukau-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Manukau TC