Counties RC 11 April 2021 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Smith
ID: JCA12184
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Counties RC - 11 April 2021
Meet Chair:
ASmith
Race Date:
2021/04/11
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Jones admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Mr Jones' license to ride in races was suspended from close of racing on the 11th of April 2021 until close of racing on 17th April 2021 (4 National days). In addition Mr Jones was fined $500.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 6, the Fasttrack $5k. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr Coles, alleging that Apprentice Rider Mr C Jones used his whip excessively when riding JUNIOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Jones was assisted at the hearing by his employer, Licensed Trainer Mr N Tiley. Mr Jones said that he understood the Rule and confirmed that he admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-unnecessary, or
(ii)-excessive, or
(iii)-improper
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)-The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)-The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)- The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Using available race film footage Ms Selvakumaran demonstrated the breach. She identified Mr Jones’ mount, JUNIOR, shortly after entering the home straight. She said that between the straight entrance to the 100-metre mark Mr Jones struck his mount 8 times, with a 9th strike occuring right on the 100m mark.
In response Mr Jones said that he agreed with the number of strikes. On his behalf, Mr Tiley said it was a straight forward breach of the whip Rule.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Coles said that Mr Jones had breached the whip Rule on two previous occasions in the last 6 months.
The Committee advised Mr Jones that the starting point for a 3rd breach of the whip Rules was a $2000 fine and a 2 day suspension, however on occasions, and in some circumstances, Committees had looked to increase the suspension period and reduce the fine amount, particularly for Apprentice Jockeys or those Riders that had limited opportunities.
Mr Tiley, assisting Mr Jones, said that he thought an Apprentice Jockey would take more notice of a reduced fine and increased suspension as Apprentices' funds were held in trust and the suspension was a more immediate penalty and one from which they were more likely to learn from.
Mr Jones agreed with Mr Tiley’s comments.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions and took particular note of the number and frequency of strikes as well as the force used. In that regard we confirmed the number of strikes as 8 prior to the 100m and noted that most were “backhanders”. They were not overly forceful nor were they continuous.
The Committee was particularly interested in Mr Tiley’s comments in relation to Apprentice Riders and the starting point for a 3rd whip breach, which was factored into the decision on what an appropriate penalty should look like.
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: 3ce86e0ad549679853e27a90cc40a71a
informantnumber: A13846
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 12/04/2021
hearing_title: Counties RC 11 April 2021 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Smith
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of Race 6, the Fasttrack $5k. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr Coles, alleging that Apprentice Rider Mr C Jones used his whip excessively when riding JUNIOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Jones was assisted at the hearing by his employer, Licensed Trainer Mr N Tiley. Mr Jones said that he understood the Rule and confirmed that he admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-unnecessary, or
(ii)-excessive, or
(iii)-improper
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)-The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)-The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)- The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Using available race film footage Ms Selvakumaran demonstrated the breach. She identified Mr Jones’ mount, JUNIOR, shortly after entering the home straight. She said that between the straight entrance to the 100-metre mark Mr Jones struck his mount 8 times, with a 9th strike occuring right on the 100m mark.
In response Mr Jones said that he agreed with the number of strikes. On his behalf, Mr Tiley said it was a straight forward breach of the whip Rule.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Jones admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Coles said that Mr Jones had breached the whip Rule on two previous occasions in the last 6 months.
The Committee advised Mr Jones that the starting point for a 3rd breach of the whip Rules was a $2000 fine and a 2 day suspension, however on occasions, and in some circumstances, Committees had looked to increase the suspension period and reduce the fine amount, particularly for Apprentice Jockeys or those Riders that had limited opportunities.
Mr Tiley, assisting Mr Jones, said that he thought an Apprentice Jockey would take more notice of a reduced fine and increased suspension as Apprentices' funds were held in trust and the suspension was a more immediate penalty and one from which they were more likely to learn from.
Mr Jones agreed with Mr Tiley’s comments.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions and took particular note of the number and frequency of strikes as well as the force used. In that regard we confirmed the number of strikes as 8 prior to the 100m and noted that most were “backhanders”. They were not overly forceful nor were they continuous.
The Committee was particularly interested in Mr Tiley’s comments in relation to Apprentice Riders and the starting point for a 3rd whip breach, which was factored into the decision on what an appropriate penalty should look like.
penalty:
Mr Jones' license to ride in races was suspended from close of racing on the 11th of April 2021 until close of racing on 17th April 2021 (4 National days). In addition Mr Jones was fined $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638 (3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr A Coles –Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Jones – Apprentice Rider of JUNIOR
Otherperson: Mr N Tiley – Assisting Mr Jones, Ms L Selvakumaran – Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b6816b329cbe506dbd0bea3e17ceca46
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
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meetid: 0563d9909836e652edb84a7d55f1734a
meet_expapproval:
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 11/04/2021
meet_title: Counties RC - 11 April 2021
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: counties-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ASmith
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Counties RC