Wellington RC 14 July 2018 – R 7 – Chair, Mr P Williams
ID: JCA12641
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 14 July 2018
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMoffatt
Race Date:
2018/07/14
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of race 7, the “Hanley Formula Whyte Handicap”, Information A8842 was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham under Rule 648(5). The Information stated “in that W Pinn weighed in in excess of 1kg over the weight at which he was recorded as weighing out on his mount “Rosewood”.
Mr Pinn signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the Rule under which he was charged. He was assisted at the hearing by Trainer Mr K Sharrock.
Rule 648 states:
(5) If the rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
(a) that rider; and
(b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules
Mr Oatham outlined to the Committee the sequence of events that led to the Information being filed. He said “Rosewood” was allocated 56.5 kgs for the Race. Mr Pinn was able to claim 3kgs which reduced the weight to 53.5kgs to which 1 kg was then added to allow for the safety vest. He said Mr Pinn was weighed out at 54.5kgs but on weighing in at the conclusion of the race his weight was recorded as in excess of 55.5kgs and very close to 55.75kgs or 1.25kgs over his weighing out weight. He said Mr Pinn got off the scales and was reweighed twice more and on both occasions drew the same weight – 55.75kgs.
Mr Oatham said Mr Pinn could not account for the weight variance and confirmed to him that he had not changed any gear after weighing out. Mr Oatham added that immediately after weighing out Mr Pinn said he handed the saddle to the trainer of “Rosewood’ – Mrs Paewai – and he returned to the jockey’s room. He added that when questioning Mr Pinn before deciding to file the Information Mr Pinn had told him that he saw the correct weight showing on the scales before getting off them and giving the saddle to Mrs Paewai.
Mr Oatham concluded by saying there was no apparent reason for the weight discrepancy but the matter was one of strict liability and the responsibility for ensuring a rider weighs both out and in correctly rests with the rider.
Mr Tapp, the Clerk of the Scales, was called to give evidence. To questions from Mr Oatham, he said he knew Mr Pinn was to weigh out at 54.5kgs as “Rosewood” had been allocated 56.5kgs, that Mr Pinn was a 3kg claimer and an allowance of 1kg was to be made for rider’s safety vest. He said Mr Pinn was weighed out at the correct weight of 54.5kgs but could not confirm if he saw Mr Pinn immediately give his saddle to Mrs Paewai when he got off the scales.
Mr Tapp said when Mr Pinn weighed in after the Race he noted the weight was 55.5kgs. He asked Mr Pinn to get off the scales and he then reweighed him and again noted the weight was 55.5kgs.
Mrs Paewai was then called to give evidence. She said she was standing at the scales when Mr Pinn weighed out. She said Mr Pinn gave her his saddle immediately after weighing out and she then went down to the stalls and saddled her horse.
Mr Pinn said he prepared his saddle and associated gear for the Race 7 himself immediately after completing his weighing in requirements for the previous race. He said he went to the scales wearing his safety vest and correct colours, got on the scales and was told by Mr Tapp that he was .5kg light. He said he then got two pieces of lead weighing 0.25kgs each and put them in his lead bag. He said he was then reweighed and saw 54.5kgs showing on the scales. He then got off the scales and gave the saddle direct to Mrs Paewai. He said between then and getting on the horse in the birdcage he had nothing to eat or drink but did have a cigarette.
Mr Pinn said that on returning to scale he was weighed and the weight showed as 55.5kgs. He said he was reweighed twice more and both times the weight showed as 55.5kgs.
Mr Sharrock had no comments to make other than to say he was certain the correct gear was placed on the horse.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham conceded there was no ready explanation for what had caused Mr Pinn to weigh in overweight as he did. He said both Mr Tapp and Mr Pinn had said Mr Pinn was correctly weighed out at 54.5kgs and nothing had been said during the hearing to indicate how the discrepancy in the weighing out and weighing weights occurred. He pointed out that Mr Pinn finished third in the Race with the margins back to third being a long neck and a long head. He submitted that the extra weight carried by “Rosewood” could have had a bearing on where the horse finished given those margins and the generally accepted fact that an additional kilogram of weight was equivalent to a 1 length margin.
Mr Oatham said instances of riders weighing in in excess of their weigh out weight were rare but reiterated his strict liability comments mentioned earlier. He said there had been two previous breaches of this Rule – Mr O’Malley on 25 November 2017 at Awapuni when he was fined $200 and Mr McKay on 11 November 2017 at Te Rapa when he was fined $500 for weighing in 1kg overweight, a race in which he finished 2nd being beaten 1.25 lengths by the winner.
Mr Oatham said the JCA Penalty Guide starting point penalty for a breach of this Rule was reduced from $500 to $200 in November 2017 when the permissible weight variance in the Rule was changed from 1kg to 0.5kg. He said Mr Pinn was an inexperienced Apprentice but had very quickly become a sough after rider. He said the Stewards believed a fine was an appropriate penalty and submitted it should be in the region of $500.
Mr Pinn and Mr Sharrock had no comments to make.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee has considered all the evidence and submissions made. It has not been an easy matter to deal with because all involved have said they have done nothing wrong and no evidence has been produced by anybody to even suggest how the weight discrepancy occurred. Put simply, we will never know what happened to cause Mr Pinn to weigh in the 1.25kgs over weight as stated by Mr Oatham. So, whilst it has not been proved that anybody was at fault we must nevertheless take on board that the matter is one of strict liability and the ultimate responsibility for ensuring Mr Pinn weighed both out and in correctly rests with him.
The JCA Penalty Guide states the starting point penalty for a breach of this Rule is a fine of $200. Rule 648(5) states that a breach is committed if a rider weighs in 0.5kg in excess of his weighing out weight. An aggravating factor is that Mr Pinn’s weight discrepancy is at best twice the permissible variation (and slightly more according to Mr Oatham) in one of the two major flat races of the day for which the stake was $40,000. Mr Pinn has only been beaten into third place by a long neck and long head and we cannot ignore the view that the extra weight carried by “Rosewood” may have had an impact on where the horse finished, especially given the heavy testing nature of the track. The Committee has also noted the details of the penalty incurred by Mr McKay late last year as referenced by Mr Oatham.
Taking all of the above into account we believe a fine is an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
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: 42ccf8353db80a4226e747af18e9f00d
informantnumber: A8842
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Weighed in more than 1kg over weigh out weight
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 15/07/2018
hearing_title: Wellington RC 14 July 2018 - R 7 - Chair, Mr P Williams
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 7, the “Hanley Formula Whyte Handicap”, Information A8842 was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham under Rule 648(5). The Information stated “in that W Pinn weighed in in excess of 1kg over the weight at which he was recorded as weighing out on his mount “Rosewood”.
Mr Pinn signed the Information admitting the breach and at the beginning of the hearing confirmed that was correct and also that he understood the Rule under which he was charged. He was assisted at the hearing by Trainer Mr K Sharrock.
Rule 648 states:
(5) If the rider of a horse weighs in at a weight of 0.5kg or more in excess of that at which he weighed out:
(a) that rider; and
(b) any other person who a Tribunal conducting an inquiry finds was at fault, commits a breach of these Rules
Mr Oatham outlined to the Committee the sequence of events that led to the Information being filed. He said “Rosewood” was allocated 56.5 kgs for the Race. Mr Pinn was able to claim 3kgs which reduced the weight to 53.5kgs to which 1 kg was then added to allow for the safety vest. He said Mr Pinn was weighed out at 54.5kgs but on weighing in at the conclusion of the race his weight was recorded as in excess of 55.5kgs and very close to 55.75kgs or 1.25kgs over his weighing out weight. He said Mr Pinn got off the scales and was reweighed twice more and on both occasions drew the same weight – 55.75kgs.
Mr Oatham said Mr Pinn could not account for the weight variance and confirmed to him that he had not changed any gear after weighing out. Mr Oatham added that immediately after weighing out Mr Pinn said he handed the saddle to the trainer of “Rosewood’ – Mrs Paewai – and he returned to the jockey’s room. He added that when questioning Mr Pinn before deciding to file the Information Mr Pinn had told him that he saw the correct weight showing on the scales before getting off them and giving the saddle to Mrs Paewai.
Mr Oatham concluded by saying there was no apparent reason for the weight discrepancy but the matter was one of strict liability and the responsibility for ensuring a rider weighs both out and in correctly rests with the rider.
Mr Tapp, the Clerk of the Scales, was called to give evidence. To questions from Mr Oatham, he said he knew Mr Pinn was to weigh out at 54.5kgs as “Rosewood” had been allocated 56.5kgs, that Mr Pinn was a 3kg claimer and an allowance of 1kg was to be made for rider’s safety vest. He said Mr Pinn was weighed out at the correct weight of 54.5kgs but could not confirm if he saw Mr Pinn immediately give his saddle to Mrs Paewai when he got off the scales.
Mr Tapp said when Mr Pinn weighed in after the Race he noted the weight was 55.5kgs. He asked Mr Pinn to get off the scales and he then reweighed him and again noted the weight was 55.5kgs.
Mrs Paewai was then called to give evidence. She said she was standing at the scales when Mr Pinn weighed out. She said Mr Pinn gave her his saddle immediately after weighing out and she then went down to the stalls and saddled her horse.
Mr Pinn said he prepared his saddle and associated gear for the Race 7 himself immediately after completing his weighing in requirements for the previous race. He said he went to the scales wearing his safety vest and correct colours, got on the scales and was told by Mr Tapp that he was .5kg light. He said he then got two pieces of lead weighing 0.25kgs each and put them in his lead bag. He said he was then reweighed and saw 54.5kgs showing on the scales. He then got off the scales and gave the saddle direct to Mrs Paewai. He said between then and getting on the horse in the birdcage he had nothing to eat or drink but did have a cigarette.
Mr Pinn said that on returning to scale he was weighed and the weight showed as 55.5kgs. He said he was reweighed twice more and both times the weight showed as 55.5kgs.
Mr Sharrock had no comments to make other than to say he was certain the correct gear was placed on the horse.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham conceded there was no ready explanation for what had caused Mr Pinn to weigh in overweight as he did. He said both Mr Tapp and Mr Pinn had said Mr Pinn was correctly weighed out at 54.5kgs and nothing had been said during the hearing to indicate how the discrepancy in the weighing out and weighing weights occurred. He pointed out that Mr Pinn finished third in the Race with the margins back to third being a long neck and a long head. He submitted that the extra weight carried by “Rosewood” could have had a bearing on where the horse finished given those margins and the generally accepted fact that an additional kilogram of weight was equivalent to a 1 length margin.
Mr Oatham said instances of riders weighing in in excess of their weigh out weight were rare but reiterated his strict liability comments mentioned earlier. He said there had been two previous breaches of this Rule – Mr O’Malley on 25 November 2017 at Awapuni when he was fined $200 and Mr McKay on 11 November 2017 at Te Rapa when he was fined $500 for weighing in 1kg overweight, a race in which he finished 2nd being beaten 1.25 lengths by the winner.
Mr Oatham said the JCA Penalty Guide starting point penalty for a breach of this Rule was reduced from $500 to $200 in November 2017 when the permissible weight variance in the Rule was changed from 1kg to 0.5kg. He said Mr Pinn was an inexperienced Apprentice but had very quickly become a sough after rider. He said the Stewards believed a fine was an appropriate penalty and submitted it should be in the region of $500.
Mr Pinn and Mr Sharrock had no comments to make.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee has considered all the evidence and submissions made. It has not been an easy matter to deal with because all involved have said they have done nothing wrong and no evidence has been produced by anybody to even suggest how the weight discrepancy occurred. Put simply, we will never know what happened to cause Mr Pinn to weigh in the 1.25kgs over weight as stated by Mr Oatham. So, whilst it has not been proved that anybody was at fault we must nevertheless take on board that the matter is one of strict liability and the ultimate responsibility for ensuring Mr Pinn weighed both out and in correctly rests with him.
The JCA Penalty Guide states the starting point penalty for a breach of this Rule is a fine of $200. Rule 648(5) states that a breach is committed if a rider weighs in 0.5kg in excess of his weighing out weight. An aggravating factor is that Mr Pinn’s weight discrepancy is at best twice the permissible variation (and slightly more according to Mr Oatham) in one of the two major flat races of the day for which the stake was $40,000. Mr Pinn has only been beaten into third place by a long neck and long head and we cannot ignore the view that the extra weight carried by “Rosewood” may have had an impact on where the horse finished, especially given the heavy testing nature of the track. The Committee has also noted the details of the penalty incurred by Mr McKay late last year as referenced by Mr Oatham.
Taking all of the above into account we believe a fine is an appropriate penalty on this occasion.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 648(5)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr W Pinn - Apprentice Jockey
Otherperson: Mrs M Paewai - Trainer of "Rosewood", Mr K Sharrock - Trainer assisting Mr Pinn, Mr R Tapp - Clerk of the Scales
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6460325c8687c6d75b70b1bfcfd7e48b
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race_title: R7
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meetdate: 14/07/2018
meet_title: Wellington RC - 14 July 2018
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