Kaikoura TC 29 October 2017 – R 1 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA13003
Meet Title:
Kaikoura TC - 29 October 2017
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2017/10/29
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Stratford had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Stratford is suspended from the conclusion of racing today, 29 October up to and including 10 December 2017.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB’s Harewood Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Wallis against Licensed Advanced Amateur Horseman, Mr M Stratford, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
- The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
- At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
Mr Stratford had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays of the run home. He pointed out Mr Stratford driving LIVING LEGEND turning for home when racing in a 3 to 4 wide position in behind the leading horses. Mr Wallis said that after turning for home, Mr Stratford drew the whip and struck LIVING LEGEND 14 times in a forehand motion free of the rein, over the concluding stages. He said there were occasions where Mr Stratford put his hand back on the whip rein and utilised the whip, which was within the Guidelines. He stated that the force was mid-range, but the breach was mid to low-level due to the number being 14.
Mr Stratford did not dispute the number of strikes. He conceded he knows the rules and had put in a few pauses, but the numbers still got above the limit of 10. The trainer of LIVING LEGEND had instructed him to pull the ear plugs at the home turn and give the horse one decent strike but then watch himself from then on. Mr Stratford stated that the horse could be a bit lazy, had had a few little issues lately and been a bit unlucky in its previous 4 to 5 starts.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis said Mr Stratford’s penalty record showed a previous breach of this rule on 4 August 2017 at Addington where he was fined $450 for 19 strikes free of the rein on LIVING LEGEND. He stated the starting point for a second breach of this rule within 6 months is a 3 to 5 day suspension. Mr Wallis stated that an agreed practice in assessing drives for Amateur drivers was 2 per month and submitted that a 4 day suspension which equates to a 2 month period of suspension be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Stratford queried whether a fine could be considered as penalty which was opposed by Mr Wallis.
The Committee informed Mr Stratford that a suspension was inevitable as per the Penalty Guide, and it was only when there were exceptional circumstances, that a fine would be considered.
Mr Stratford after conceding that a suspension was going to be the penalty, submitted that 4 days or a month was too much and that 3 day suspension be considered.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 3 to 5 day suspension for a 2nd breach of this rule within a 6 month period. The level of this breach we assessed as no worse than mid-range and adopted a starting point of a 4 day suspension. There were no aggravating factors to warrant an uplift in penalty but in mitigation, Mr Stratford’s admission of the breach warranted a discount. This discount we set at 1 day. We therefore determined that a 3 day suspension was an appropriate penalty. On average Amateur drivers drive once every 2 weeks or twice monthly. As we were not in receipt of upcoming dates for Amateur races, we have determined that a period of suspension, being 6 weeks, is relative to a 3 day suspension.
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: 3507e7b778fd262612e0091dfa5bfd6c
informantnumber: A09589
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip.
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 31/10/2017
hearing_title: Kaikoura TC 29 October 2017 - R 1 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Bishopdale/Bush Inn TAB’s Harewood Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S Wallis against Licensed Advanced Amateur Horseman, Mr M Stratford, alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) in that he used his whip in an excessive manner over the concluding 400m.
Rule 869(2)(a) reads as follows:
“(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) Use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”
Use of the Whip Guidelines provides:
- The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400m of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these guidelines.
- At no stage of a race will Stewards permit continuous use of the whip. Horseman must show distinct pauses between the whip being used.
Mr Stratford had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Mr Wallis gave evidence and showed video replays of the run home. He pointed out Mr Stratford driving LIVING LEGEND turning for home when racing in a 3 to 4 wide position in behind the leading horses. Mr Wallis said that after turning for home, Mr Stratford drew the whip and struck LIVING LEGEND 14 times in a forehand motion free of the rein, over the concluding stages. He said there were occasions where Mr Stratford put his hand back on the whip rein and utilised the whip, which was within the Guidelines. He stated that the force was mid-range, but the breach was mid to low-level due to the number being 14.
Mr Stratford did not dispute the number of strikes. He conceded he knows the rules and had put in a few pauses, but the numbers still got above the limit of 10. The trainer of LIVING LEGEND had instructed him to pull the ear plugs at the home turn and give the horse one decent strike but then watch himself from then on. Mr Stratford stated that the horse could be a bit lazy, had had a few little issues lately and been a bit unlucky in its previous 4 to 5 starts.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Stratford had admitted this breach of the Rules it was found to be proved in accordance with Rule 1111(1)(d).
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis said Mr Stratford’s penalty record showed a previous breach of this rule on 4 August 2017 at Addington where he was fined $450 for 19 strikes free of the rein on LIVING LEGEND. He stated the starting point for a second breach of this rule within 6 months is a 3 to 5 day suspension. Mr Wallis stated that an agreed practice in assessing drives for Amateur drivers was 2 per month and submitted that a 4 day suspension which equates to a 2 month period of suspension be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Stratford queried whether a fine could be considered as penalty which was opposed by Mr Wallis.
The Committee informed Mr Stratford that a suspension was inevitable as per the Penalty Guide, and it was only when there were exceptional circumstances, that a fine would be considered.
Mr Stratford after conceding that a suspension was going to be the penalty, submitted that 4 days or a month was too much and that 3 day suspension be considered.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 3 to 5 day suspension for a 2nd breach of this rule within a 6 month period. The level of this breach we assessed as no worse than mid-range and adopted a starting point of a 4 day suspension. There were no aggravating factors to warrant an uplift in penalty but in mitigation, Mr Stratford’s admission of the breach warranted a discount. This discount we set at 1 day. We therefore determined that a 3 day suspension was an appropriate penalty. On average Amateur drivers drive once every 2 weeks or twice monthly. As we were not in receipt of upcoming dates for Amateur races, we have determined that a period of suspension, being 6 weeks, is relative to a 3 day suspension.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Stratford is suspended from the conclusion of racing today, 29 October up to and including 10 December 2017.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr M Stratford - Licensed Advanced Amateur Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6dff0bf82d68fe36af02ffae16f51610
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:
race_pm2:
meetid: f086d9e9c18a440926ad01436f475406
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 29/10/2017
meet_title: Kaikoura TC - 29 October 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: kaikoura-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: RMcKenzie
meet_pm2: none
name: Kaikoura TC