Counties RC – 27 April 2011 – R 3
ID: JCA12963
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Counties RC - 27 April 2011
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
GTankard
Race Date:
2011/04/27
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Mr Sweeney admitted the breach which we thus find proved.
Penalty:
Mr Sweeney is fined the sum of $150 and reminded in very clear terms of his obligations under the Rules of Racing.
Charge:
Mr Coles alleged that Mr Sweeney used the whip excessively on his mount MADAM ISTI in race 3.
Facts:
Mr Coles demonstrated on the video that the defendant used his whip some 15 times before the 200 metres without pausing for 6 strides as required by the guidelines.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Sweeney accepted that he had used the whip as Mr Coles alleged but stated the strikes were not forceful and, as the horse had kept giving, he had continued to use the whip and he had been caught out by the long straight at Pukekohe.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Coles placed the defendant’s record before us. This showed that Mr Sweeney had no breach of this rule in the last 12 months and Mr Coles indicated he could not recalling speaking to the defendant about a whip issue for some years. He submitted that a fine in the range of $150 to $200 was appropriate.
Mr Sweeney asked us to consider that a fellow jockey was only warned in what he believed to be similar circumstances a meeting or so back. We informed Mr Sweeney that whether a jockey is warned or charged is a matter for the stipendiary stewards and is not a matter to which a Judicial Committee can give any weight.
Mr Sweeney also submitted that he only had 2 rides today and that a fine of $200 would mean he had ridden for nothing.
Reasons for Penalty:
Contrary to the guidelines, Mr Sweeney hit the horse every second stride at first but these strikes became more repetitive as the horse neared the 200 metre mark. We accept, as does Mr Coles, that these were not forceful blows, but the strikes do not need to be so to constitute a breach of the rule.
We note Mr Sweeney’s explanation that he had not ridden the horse previously and as the horse kept responding to his actions he continued to use the whip, and as a consequence he contravened the rule.
We believe this breach of the rule is not top end. It is the frequency of the strikes prior to the 200 mark rather than their force that puts the defendant in breach of the rule.
We have regard to the defendant’s excellent record with respect to this rule (no breach for a number of seasons) and his ready admission of the breach.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 6eb76d1f9d943ee649ed4e8381d4f292
informantnumber: 7616
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 14/04/2011
hearing_title: Counties RC - 27 April 2011 - R 3
charge:
Mr Coles alleged that Mr Sweeney used the whip excessively on his mount MADAM ISTI in race 3.
facts:
Mr Coles demonstrated on the video that the defendant used his whip some 15 times before the 200 metres without pausing for 6 strides as required by the guidelines.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Sweeney accepted that he had used the whip as Mr Coles alleged but stated the strikes were not forceful and, as the horse had kept giving, he had continued to use the whip and he had been caught out by the long straight at Pukekohe.
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Sweeney admitted the breach which we thus find proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Coles placed the defendant’s record before us. This showed that Mr Sweeney had no breach of this rule in the last 12 months and Mr Coles indicated he could not recalling speaking to the defendant about a whip issue for some years. He submitted that a fine in the range of $150 to $200 was appropriate.
Mr Sweeney asked us to consider that a fellow jockey was only warned in what he believed to be similar circumstances a meeting or so back. We informed Mr Sweeney that whether a jockey is warned or charged is a matter for the stipendiary stewards and is not a matter to which a Judicial Committee can give any weight.
Mr Sweeney also submitted that he only had 2 rides today and that a fine of $200 would mean he had ridden for nothing.
reasonsforpenalty:
Contrary to the guidelines, Mr Sweeney hit the horse every second stride at first but these strikes became more repetitive as the horse neared the 200 metre mark. We accept, as does Mr Coles, that these were not forceful blows, but the strikes do not need to be so to constitute a breach of the rule.
We note Mr Sweeney’s explanation that he had not ridden the horse previously and as the horse kept responding to his actions he continued to use the whip, and as a consequence he contravened the rule.
We believe this breach of the rule is not top end. It is the frequency of the strikes prior to the 200 mark rather than their force that puts the defendant in breach of the rule.
We have regard to the defendant’s excellent record with respect to this rule (no breach for a number of seasons) and his ready admission of the breach.
penalty:
Mr Sweeney is fined the sum of $150 and reminded in very clear terms of his obligations under the Rules of Racing.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: Mr A Coles
JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Sweeney
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 43d40cba30c7ab340d1d94b8fe824ec8
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 34eed9ad32a9119054b3374d439e52fb
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 27/04/2011
meet_title: Counties RC - 27 April 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: counties-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: GTankard
meet_pm2: none
name: Counties RC