Forbury Park TC 30 May 2014 – R 4
ID: JCA12639
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 30 May 2014
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
DSteel
Race Date:
2014/05/30
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Mr Robertson has allowed his horse to strike the sulky wheel of Mr Prendergast and he is thus in breach of r 869(3)(b), careless driving.
Penalty:
Mr Robertson only drives two horses. We believe a two day suspension is appropriate.
Mr Robertson is suspended from the end of racing on 2 June up to and including 12 June. This is two lower South Island racing days. He is also reminded of his professional obligations.
Facts:
Mr Ydgren alleged that Mr T Robertson (RIGHTEOUS HONOUR) allowed his horse to strike the wheel of MILLWOOD CHARITY (M Prendergast) causing RIGHTEOUS HONOUR to break passing the 500 metres.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Davidson, Stipendiary Steward, demonstrated on the videos that down the back straight the last time RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was in last position, racing in the one off running line, was off the bit, and was being urged with the whip and reins to keep the horse’s mind on the job.
Mr Ydgren stated the horse was awkwardly positioned close to Mr Prendergast’s sulky when there was considerable contact between RIGHTEOUS HONOUR and the sulky, which caused RIGHTEOUS HONOUR to gallop. He said Mr Robertson had been niggling at his horse prior to the incident and, using the back straight film, he demonstrated that there were no issues with respect to the steering of the horse. The head on film demonstrated that the respondent only took hold of RIGHTEOUS HONOUR once contact had been made.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Ydgren said in his view there was nothing out of the ordinary with respect to Mr Prendergast’s drive and that that horse had not contributed to the incident. He said Mr Robertson had simply got too close to MILLWOOD CHARITY’s sulky and this resulted in contact.
Mr Robertson said RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was not travelling well at the time and was off the bit. He had flicked the whip and the reins to urge him along. He said he was about to make a forward move to the outside of Mr Prendergast when the contact occurred. He said RIGHTEOUS HONOUR had a habit of fighting its driver and this was why the horse’s leg had become entangled in Mr Prendergast’s cart. He said at the time he was close up behind Mr Prendergast, who had dropped back a little.
Mr L Robertson, co-trainer gave evidence to the effect that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was an inexperienced horse and had only been off the property five times. When it qualified it had led all the way and won. It lacked ringcraft and was in different gear to that that it had raced in at its previous start in attempt to make it more tractable.
Reasons for Decision:
We are satisfied that Mr Robertson has misjudged the distance between his horse and the cart of Mr Prendergast at the time his horse was off the bit and he was urging it forward. It was also at the time he was intending to progress around the outside of Mr Prendergast. The fact that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR has proved a difficult horse to drive should have alerted Mr Robertson to the need to take extra care. There is nothing in the actions of either RIGHTEOUS HONOUR or MILLWOOD CHARITY that would lead us to conclude that either horse was at fault.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Ydgren produced Mr Robertson’s record, which was clear under this rule. He submitted the breach was towards the lower end, with the only horse affected being RIGHTEOUS HONOUR. He submitted a fine of $250 or 3 days suspension was appropriate.
Mr Robertson said he preferred a suspension to a fine and asked the Committee to consider imposing a short suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
We agree the breach is towards the lower end of the range for careless driving. Mr Robertson was aware that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was a difficult drive and had had gear changes to counteract his wayward tendencies. There is nothing, however, in the manner in which the horse raced on the night that would lead us to discount the penalty.
The Penalty Guide suggests a starting point of 8 drives. We take into account that the breach is low end and Mr Robertson’s excellent record.
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: 42c07a2b1ad9478adee7d1dbc7de6e52
informantnumber: 1157
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: careless driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 26/05/2014
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 30 May 2014 - R 4
charge:
facts:
Mr Ydgren alleged that Mr T Robertson (RIGHTEOUS HONOUR) allowed his horse to strike the wheel of MILLWOOD CHARITY (M Prendergast) causing RIGHTEOUS HONOUR to break passing the 500 metres.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Davidson, Stipendiary Steward, demonstrated on the videos that down the back straight the last time RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was in last position, racing in the one off running line, was off the bit, and was being urged with the whip and reins to keep the horse’s mind on the job.
Mr Ydgren stated the horse was awkwardly positioned close to Mr Prendergast’s sulky when there was considerable contact between RIGHTEOUS HONOUR and the sulky, which caused RIGHTEOUS HONOUR to gallop. He said Mr Robertson had been niggling at his horse prior to the incident and, using the back straight film, he demonstrated that there were no issues with respect to the steering of the horse. The head on film demonstrated that the respondent only took hold of RIGHTEOUS HONOUR once contact had been made.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Ydgren said in his view there was nothing out of the ordinary with respect to Mr Prendergast’s drive and that that horse had not contributed to the incident. He said Mr Robertson had simply got too close to MILLWOOD CHARITY’s sulky and this resulted in contact.
Mr Robertson said RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was not travelling well at the time and was off the bit. He had flicked the whip and the reins to urge him along. He said he was about to make a forward move to the outside of Mr Prendergast when the contact occurred. He said RIGHTEOUS HONOUR had a habit of fighting its driver and this was why the horse’s leg had become entangled in Mr Prendergast’s cart. He said at the time he was close up behind Mr Prendergast, who had dropped back a little.
Mr L Robertson, co-trainer gave evidence to the effect that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was an inexperienced horse and had only been off the property five times. When it qualified it had led all the way and won. It lacked ringcraft and was in different gear to that that it had raced in at its previous start in attempt to make it more tractable.
reasonsfordecision:
We are satisfied that Mr Robertson has misjudged the distance between his horse and the cart of Mr Prendergast at the time his horse was off the bit and he was urging it forward. It was also at the time he was intending to progress around the outside of Mr Prendergast. The fact that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR has proved a difficult horse to drive should have alerted Mr Robertson to the need to take extra care. There is nothing in the actions of either RIGHTEOUS HONOUR or MILLWOOD CHARITY that would lead us to conclude that either horse was at fault.
Decision:
Mr Robertson has allowed his horse to strike the sulky wheel of Mr Prendergast and he is thus in breach of r 869(3)(b), careless driving.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Ydgren produced Mr Robertson’s record, which was clear under this rule. He submitted the breach was towards the lower end, with the only horse affected being RIGHTEOUS HONOUR. He submitted a fine of $250 or 3 days suspension was appropriate.
Mr Robertson said he preferred a suspension to a fine and asked the Committee to consider imposing a short suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
We agree the breach is towards the lower end of the range for careless driving. Mr Robertson was aware that RIGHTEOUS HONOUR was a difficult drive and had had gear changes to counteract his wayward tendencies. There is nothing, however, in the manner in which the horse raced on the night that would lead us to discount the penalty.
The Penalty Guide suggests a starting point of 8 drives. We take into account that the breach is low end and Mr Robertson’s excellent record.
penalty:
Mr Robertson only drives two horses. We believe a two day suspension is appropriate.
Mr Robertson is suspended from the end of racing on 2 June up to and including 12 June. This is two lower South Island racing days. He is also reminded of his professional obligations.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr N Ydgren Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Robertson Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr L Robertson Licensed Trainer
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: f16f9f8583e4a16bfe65927c9e0c5777
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
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race_chair:
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meetid: cb201ec6b477a253a581ca1e56e99b3b
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
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meetdate: 30/05/2014
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 30 May 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: DSteel
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC