Wairio TC 23 March 2019 – R 1 (instigating a protest) – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA12126
Meet Title:
Wairio TC - 23 March 2019
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway
Race Date:
2019/03/23
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
In these circumstances the protest is upheld, and the placings are amended as follows:
1ST -8-CRACKER HILL
2nd -5-BIG IRON
3rd -2-DORA EXPLORER
4th -4-ROBO TROUBLE
5th -3-PEGASUS HANOVER
Stakes and dividends are to be paid accordingly.
Facts:
At the conclusion of Race 1, the Western Electrical Ltd/Fordes Pet Food Trot 1609 metres an information was lodged by Mr Stratford under 869A(2) alleging interference to horse No 5 BIG IRON (T Stratford), which was placed 3rd by the Judge, by horse No 2 DORA EXPLORER (D McCormick) placed 1st. The allegation was that BIG IRON would have beaten the winner had the horse not been checked and lost ground.
Judge’s placings were:
1ST -2-DORA EXPLORER
2nd-8-CRACKER HILL
3rd -5-BIG IRON
4th -4-ROBO TROUBLE
5th -3-PEGASUS HANOVER
The official margins between 1st and 3rd were 3/4 of a length and 2 3/4 lengths.
Rule 869A(2) states:
When a placed horse or its driver causes interference to another placed horse and the Judicial Committee is satisfied that the horse interfered with would have finished ahead of the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference the Judicial Committee must, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed, place the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference immediately after the horse interfered with.
Submissions for Decision:
We viewed the videos. These demonstrated that at about the 1200 metres Mr McCormick was one out, without cover, racing outside the horse in the trail. Mr Stratford was racing one out and was immediately behind Mr McCormick. DORA EXPLORER galloped briefly and came back on to BIG IRON which galloped and settled at the rear of the field. Mr Stratford believed he lost some 15 lengths as a result of the incident. He said when DORA EXPLORER broke she shifted out a cart width as Mr McCormick was looking to take the horse to the outside of the track. He went to go inside Mr McCormick, but his horse broke as a consequence of DORA EXPLORER coming back as quickly as she did.
Mr Stratford said had DORA EXPLORER not galloped and come back on to BIG IRON he would have followed Mr McCormick the whole way.
Mr McCormick said when his horse galloped, he looked over his shoulder and went wide. His horse broke, propped and came back to a trot quick. He said he had never moved in the cart in the run to the line. The horse had “heaps left in the tank”. As he had the field covered, he did not drive DORA EXPLORER out.
When questioned, Mr McCormick did not accept he had come back onto Mr Stratford as he believed he had taken action within two strides. He accepted, however, that BIG IRON had broken because DORA EXPLORER broke. However, he reiterated he believed he always would have beaten Mr Stratford.
Mr McCormick said he had sat outside the leader. He could have gone to the front earlier. DORA EXPLORER was only jogging. He had a handful of horse. He also added that DORA EXPLORER had a habit of knocking off in her races, so he had had to keep her mind on the job.
Mr Munro was asked to give evidence as an expert witness. He stated that Mr McCormick’s horse had broken and checked Mr Stratford. He estimated the distance BIG IRON galloped before settling was 40 metres or some 15 to 20 lengths. He concurred with Mr McCormick that he was sitting there in the cart at the end of the race and DORA EXPLORER was trotting nicely. He said BIG IRON was 3 1/2 lengths from the winner and had finished well.
Reasons for Decision:
We are satisfied there was interference to BIG IRON as a consequence of DORA EXPLORER, which was racing one out, breaking briefly near the 1200 metres and coming back onto BIG IRON, which was following DORA EXPLORER. DORA EXPLORER came back onto BIG IRON quite quickly and there was insufficient time and room for that horse to avoid DORA EXPLORER by shifting inwards, despite Mr Stratford’s efforts to do so. The consequence was BIG IRON galloped.
The issue is whether to exercise our discretion to relegate DORA EXPLORER behind BIG IRON. We refer to r 869A(2) and find that near the 1200 metres BIG IRON suffered interference because DORA EXPLORER galloped and came back on to BIG IRON.
Before relegating DORA EXPLORER to behind BIG IRON we have to be satisfied that the horse interfered with would have finished ahead of the horse that caused the interference. We have regard to the margin of 3 1/2 lengths and the distance BIG IRON lost as a consequence of galloping. A conservative estimate of the distance lost is 15 lengths and it may have been more. Mr Munro estimated it to be some 40 metres. Although the interference occurred at the 1200 metres and thus some distance from the winning post, the distance of the race was only a mile, and towards the end of the back straight BIG IRON had commenced a concerted run from the rear and circled the field. Coming into the home straight the horse was six wide. The horse was still running on at the end of the race. We accept Mr McCormick’s submission that he had not driven DORA EXPLORER out and that she still had more to give. The official margin was 3 1/2 lengths. However, BIG IRON was entitled to a run free from interference from DORA EXPLORER. This the horse did not receive. The margins, the distance lost, and the performance of BIG IRON from the time the horse settled after receiving interference are such that we are satisfied that had there not been interference to BIG IRON by DORA EXPLORER, that BIG IRON would have finished ahead of DORA EXPLORER.
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: 355ec3bac5f55ab829b42ba688aeb7e9
informantnumber: A12481
horsename: DORA EXPLORER
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 26/03/2019
hearing_title: Wairio TC 23 March 2019 - R 1 (instigating a protest) - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
At the conclusion of Race 1, the Western Electrical Ltd/Fordes Pet Food Trot 1609 metres an information was lodged by Mr Stratford under 869A(2) alleging interference to horse No 5 BIG IRON (T Stratford), which was placed 3rd by the Judge, by horse No 2 DORA EXPLORER (D McCormick) placed 1st. The allegation was that BIG IRON would have beaten the winner had the horse not been checked and lost ground.
Judge’s placings were:
1ST -2-DORA EXPLORER
2nd-8-CRACKER HILL
3rd -5-BIG IRON
4th -4-ROBO TROUBLE
5th -3-PEGASUS HANOVER
The official margins between 1st and 3rd were 3/4 of a length and 2 3/4 lengths.
Rule 869A(2) states:
When a placed horse or its driver causes interference to another placed horse and the Judicial Committee is satisfied that the horse interfered with would have finished ahead of the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference the Judicial Committee must, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed, place the horse that, or whose driver, caused the interference immediately after the horse interfered with.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
We viewed the videos. These demonstrated that at about the 1200 metres Mr McCormick was one out, without cover, racing outside the horse in the trail. Mr Stratford was racing one out and was immediately behind Mr McCormick. DORA EXPLORER galloped briefly and came back on to BIG IRON which galloped and settled at the rear of the field. Mr Stratford believed he lost some 15 lengths as a result of the incident. He said when DORA EXPLORER broke she shifted out a cart width as Mr McCormick was looking to take the horse to the outside of the track. He went to go inside Mr McCormick, but his horse broke as a consequence of DORA EXPLORER coming back as quickly as she did.
Mr Stratford said had DORA EXPLORER not galloped and come back on to BIG IRON he would have followed Mr McCormick the whole way.
Mr McCormick said when his horse galloped, he looked over his shoulder and went wide. His horse broke, propped and came back to a trot quick. He said he had never moved in the cart in the run to the line. The horse had “heaps left in the tank”. As he had the field covered, he did not drive DORA EXPLORER out.
When questioned, Mr McCormick did not accept he had come back onto Mr Stratford as he believed he had taken action within two strides. He accepted, however, that BIG IRON had broken because DORA EXPLORER broke. However, he reiterated he believed he always would have beaten Mr Stratford.
Mr McCormick said he had sat outside the leader. He could have gone to the front earlier. DORA EXPLORER was only jogging. He had a handful of horse. He also added that DORA EXPLORER had a habit of knocking off in her races, so he had had to keep her mind on the job.
Mr Munro was asked to give evidence as an expert witness. He stated that Mr McCormick’s horse had broken and checked Mr Stratford. He estimated the distance BIG IRON galloped before settling was 40 metres or some 15 to 20 lengths. He concurred with Mr McCormick that he was sitting there in the cart at the end of the race and DORA EXPLORER was trotting nicely. He said BIG IRON was 3 1/2 lengths from the winner and had finished well.
reasonsfordecision:
We are satisfied there was interference to BIG IRON as a consequence of DORA EXPLORER, which was racing one out, breaking briefly near the 1200 metres and coming back onto BIG IRON, which was following DORA EXPLORER. DORA EXPLORER came back onto BIG IRON quite quickly and there was insufficient time and room for that horse to avoid DORA EXPLORER by shifting inwards, despite Mr Stratford’s efforts to do so. The consequence was BIG IRON galloped.
The issue is whether to exercise our discretion to relegate DORA EXPLORER behind BIG IRON. We refer to r 869A(2) and find that near the 1200 metres BIG IRON suffered interference because DORA EXPLORER galloped and came back on to BIG IRON.
Before relegating DORA EXPLORER to behind BIG IRON we have to be satisfied that the horse interfered with would have finished ahead of the horse that caused the interference. We have regard to the margin of 3 1/2 lengths and the distance BIG IRON lost as a consequence of galloping. A conservative estimate of the distance lost is 15 lengths and it may have been more. Mr Munro estimated it to be some 40 metres. Although the interference occurred at the 1200 metres and thus some distance from the winning post, the distance of the race was only a mile, and towards the end of the back straight BIG IRON had commenced a concerted run from the rear and circled the field. Coming into the home straight the horse was six wide. The horse was still running on at the end of the race. We accept Mr McCormick’s submission that he had not driven DORA EXPLORER out and that she still had more to give. The official margin was 3 1/2 lengths. However, BIG IRON was entitled to a run free from interference from DORA EXPLORER. This the horse did not receive. The margins, the distance lost, and the performance of BIG IRON from the time the horse settled after receiving interference are such that we are satisfied that had there not been interference to BIG IRON by DORA EXPLORER, that BIG IRON would have finished ahead of DORA EXPLORER.
Decision:
In these circumstances the protest is upheld, and the placings are amended as follows:
1ST -8-CRACKER HILL
2nd -5-BIG IRON
3rd -2-DORA EXPLORER
4th -4-ROBO TROUBLE
5th -3-PEGASUS HANOVER
Stakes and dividends are to be paid accordingly.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Protest
Rules: 869(A)(2)
Informant: Mr T Stratford - Open Horseman
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mr V Munro - Stipendiary Steward, Mr Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
Respondent: Mr D McCormick - Open Horseman
StipendSteward:
raceid: 1c6a90ab3a57ae8b88fff22e33450885
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 940f27b9a5c3bfab004c7256dcc008d0
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 23/03/2019
meet_title: Wairio TC - 23 March 2019
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wairio-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: MConway
meet_pm2: none
name: Wairio TC