HR Waikato 17 December 2015 – R 7 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA12739
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 17 December 2015
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2015/12/17
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
As Mr Cruickshank admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, the Committee imposes a fine of $275 on Mr Cruickshank.
Facts:
Following the running of race 7, Pulse Engineering Services Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869 (3) (b). The Informant, Stipendiary Steward, Mr Muirhead, alleged that Open Horseman, Mr S Cruickshank, drove carelessly by shifting ART ANGLE inwards near the 500 metres when not sufficiently clear which resulted in interference to COULD A DUNIT (P Butcher) which paced roughly.
Mr Cruickshank acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3) (b) provides: No horseman in any race shall drive (b) carelessly.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident on the available video films. He identified that passing the 600 metres ART ANGEL was racing three back on the running line and one off with YANKEE BRANDY racing on its inside. He said shortly after that point Mr Cruickshank improved to a 3 wide position with Mr Butcher improving into the position that Mr Cruickshank vacated. He said that Mr Cruickshank then changed his mind and went back to a 2 wide position but Mr Butcher was already established in that position. This resulted in COULD A DUNIT running out of racing room stumbling and pacing roughly.
Mr Cruickshank told the Committee that when he went to improve near the 500 metres he thought he was travelling better than he actually was. When he realised ART ANGLE was not making ground he elected to drop back to a two wide position. He acknowledged that he was not aware there were two horses racing on his inside, he thought there was only one horse. He added that Mr Butcher did not call out to him otherwise he would have got out of the way.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Cruickshank conceded that he did not look back to establish if there was room for him to drop back into the running line.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mr Cruickshank’s record which showed no previous breaches under this rule in the last 12 months. He said this was a good record and described the level of carelessness as mid to low range. He said Mr Cruickshank should be given credit for his admission of the breach.
Mr Muirhead submitted the JCA Penalty Guide for careless driving recommended a starting point of 10 drives or a $500 fine. He said given the mitigating circumstances a reduction in penalty was warranted.
Mr Cruickshank submitted that he was comfortable with a fine in the region of $250 so he could retain his current drives.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mr Cruickshank’s admission of the breach, his clear record under this rule and the level of carelessness is low to mid - range. However, this has to be balanced against the fact that Mr Cruickshank made an error of judgement by not looking back to see if there was sufficient room for him to drop back into the running line. This resulted in COULD A DUNIT faltering and pacing roughly for several strides.
We referred to the JCA listing of penalties for breaches under this rule and noted that a fine in the vicinity of $300 was a consistent penalty imposed since the introduction of the new Penalty Guide.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate penalty is a $275 fine.
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: 51e351b30277623afc5265b8701a7d47
informantnumber: A3995
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 21/12/2015
hearing_title: HR Waikato 17 December 2015 - R 7 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 7, Pulse Engineering Services Mobile Pace, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869 (3) (b). The Informant, Stipendiary Steward, Mr Muirhead, alleged that Open Horseman, Mr S Cruickshank, drove carelessly by shifting ART ANGLE inwards near the 500 metres when not sufficiently clear which resulted in interference to COULD A DUNIT (P Butcher) which paced roughly.
Mr Cruickshank acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3) (b) provides: No horseman in any race shall drive (b) carelessly.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident on the available video films. He identified that passing the 600 metres ART ANGEL was racing three back on the running line and one off with YANKEE BRANDY racing on its inside. He said shortly after that point Mr Cruickshank improved to a 3 wide position with Mr Butcher improving into the position that Mr Cruickshank vacated. He said that Mr Cruickshank then changed his mind and went back to a 2 wide position but Mr Butcher was already established in that position. This resulted in COULD A DUNIT running out of racing room stumbling and pacing roughly.
Mr Cruickshank told the Committee that when he went to improve near the 500 metres he thought he was travelling better than he actually was. When he realised ART ANGLE was not making ground he elected to drop back to a two wide position. He acknowledged that he was not aware there were two horses racing on his inside, he thought there was only one horse. He added that Mr Butcher did not call out to him otherwise he would have got out of the way.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Cruickshank conceded that he did not look back to establish if there was room for him to drop back into the running line.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Cruickshank admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead produced Mr Cruickshank’s record which showed no previous breaches under this rule in the last 12 months. He said this was a good record and described the level of carelessness as mid to low range. He said Mr Cruickshank should be given credit for his admission of the breach.
Mr Muirhead submitted the JCA Penalty Guide for careless driving recommended a starting point of 10 drives or a $500 fine. He said given the mitigating circumstances a reduction in penalty was warranted.
Mr Cruickshank submitted that he was comfortable with a fine in the region of $250 so he could retain his current drives.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors are Mr Cruickshank’s admission of the breach, his clear record under this rule and the level of carelessness is low to mid - range. However, this has to be balanced against the fact that Mr Cruickshank made an error of judgement by not looking back to see if there was sufficient room for him to drop back into the running line. This resulted in COULD A DUNIT faltering and pacing roughly for several strides.
We referred to the JCA listing of penalties for breaches under this rule and noted that a fine in the vicinity of $300 was a consistent penalty imposed since the introduction of the new Penalty Guide.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate penalty is a $275 fine.
penalty:
Accordingly, the Committee imposes a fine of $275 on Mr Cruickshank.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Cruickshank - Driver of ART ANGEL
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: a867bf83fb4711f4bf5f2d739b1cbc1c
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 0c72555903797f7f57d8e1921257cd42
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 17/12/2015
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 17 December 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato