Archive Decision

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Auckland TC 16 October 2015 – R 4 – Chair Mr P Williams

ID: JCA13171

Applicant:
Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr B Mangos - Open Horseman

Other Person:
Mr N McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A7430

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive Use of the Whip

Rules:
869(2)(a)

Plea:
admitted

Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 16 October 2015

Meet Chair:
PWilliams

Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2015/10/16

Race Number:
R4

Decision:

As Mr Mangos admitted the breach the charge was found proved.

Penalty:

Mr Mangos is fined $400.

Facts:

Following the running of race 4, the “NRM Sires Stakes Series (Heat 4) Mobile Pace 1700m” Information A7430 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N Muirhead alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr B Mangos “in that he used his whip excessively driving “Can’t Refuse” over the concluding stages”. Mr Mangos signed the Information admitting the breach. Both Mr Muirhead and Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre advised at the start of the hearing that, when being issued with the Information, Mr Mangos had indicated he did not wish to attend the hearing. Unfortunately there was no written confirmation on the Information from Mr Mangos to confirm that. However, the Committee accepted that was the case when Mr McIntyre said the Stewards had a recording of the preliminary meeting with Mr Mangos which could be played to the Committee if required.

Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”

Submissions for Decision:

Mr Muirhead used the head-on film to identify Mr Mangos driving “Can’t Refuse” trailing the leader as the horses entered the final straight. Mr Muirhead said that once Mr Mangos was established in the passing lane he commenced using his whip and in the final 150m struck his horse between 25 and 27 times. He said the number of strikes was clearly outside the guidelines which Mr Mangos was fully aware of. He also pointed out that “Can’t Refuse” won the race by a nose.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Muirhead said Mr Mangos had not breached this or any other Rule in the previous 12 months and was a highly experienced and very capable horseman. He said the race was a heat of the NRM Sires Stakes Series with the winner of the race being eligible to run in the final later in the season and this meant Mr Mangos was desperate to win. He said the level of offending was in the mid to high range and there could be no excuses for the actions of Mr Mangos. Mr Muirhead said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but made no specific submission of what the penalty should be.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee has reviewed the head-on film of the final 250m of the race and notes that Mr Mangos used his whip between 25 to 27 times over the 150m of the race. The Committee believes the strikes were forceful and rapid and that the severity of breach of the rules to be in the mid to high range. We note Mr Mangos won the race by a nose in a very tight finish with the margin between second and third being a head and between third and fourth being a neck. In winning “Can’t Refuse” became eligible to run in a much more “lucrative” final race in the series later in the season. However, some might argue Mr Mangos only won because, in using the whip in the manner he did, he had an unfair advantage over those drivers who did not use their whips excessively over the concluding stages of the race.

The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We believe the mitigating factors of Mr Mangos' admittance of the breach and excellent driving record justify a $200 reduction of that starting point. However, we also believe the aggravating factors in relation to the high number of strikes, the force of those strikes and the perception of him having gained through his actions an unfair advantage over other drivers justifies an increase in the penalty by $100.

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: 4d3e8e6dd37e9cd68f223aba9ae4a87c


informantnumber: A7430


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 18/10/2015


hearing_title: Auckland TC 16 October 2015 - R 4 - Chair Mr P Williams


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 4, the “NRM Sires Stakes Series (Heat 4) Mobile Pace 1700m” Information A7430 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr N Muirhead alleging a breach of Rule 869(2)(a) by Open Horseman Mr B Mangos “in that he used his whip excessively driving “Can’t Refuse” over the concluding stages”. Mr Mangos signed the Information admitting the breach. Both Mr Muirhead and Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre advised at the start of the hearing that, when being issued with the Information, Mr Mangos had indicated he did not wish to attend the hearing. Unfortunately there was no written confirmation on the Information from Mr Mangos to confirm that. However, the Committee accepted that was the case when Mr McIntyre said the Stewards had a recording of the preliminary meeting with Mr Mangos which could be played to the Committee if required.

Rule 869(2)(a) states:- “No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.”


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

Mr Muirhead used the head-on film to identify Mr Mangos driving “Can’t Refuse” trailing the leader as the horses entered the final straight. Mr Muirhead said that once Mr Mangos was established in the passing lane he commenced using his whip and in the final 150m struck his horse between 25 and 27 times. He said the number of strikes was clearly outside the guidelines which Mr Mangos was fully aware of. He also pointed out that “Can’t Refuse” won the race by a nose.


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Mangos admitted the breach the charge was found proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Muirhead said Mr Mangos had not breached this or any other Rule in the previous 12 months and was a highly experienced and very capable horseman. He said the race was a heat of the NRM Sires Stakes Series with the winner of the race being eligible to run in the final later in the season and this meant Mr Mangos was desperate to win. He said the level of offending was in the mid to high range and there could be no excuses for the actions of Mr Mangos. Mr Muirhead said he was aware that the JCA Guidelines stated the starting point for a breach of the Rule was a $500 fine or a 2 day suspension but made no specific submission of what the penalty should be.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee has reviewed the head-on film of the final 250m of the race and notes that Mr Mangos used his whip between 25 to 27 times over the 150m of the race. The Committee believes the strikes were forceful and rapid and that the severity of breach of the rules to be in the mid to high range. We note Mr Mangos won the race by a nose in a very tight finish with the margin between second and third being a head and between third and fourth being a neck. In winning “Can’t Refuse” became eligible to run in a much more “lucrative” final race in the series later in the season. However, some might argue Mr Mangos only won because, in using the whip in the manner he did, he had an unfair advantage over those drivers who did not use their whips excessively over the concluding stages of the race.

The JCA Penalty Guidelines state the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $500 fine or 2 day suspension. We believe the mitigating factors of Mr Mangos' admittance of the breach and excellent driving record justify a $200 reduction of that starting point. However, we also believe the aggravating factors in relation to the high number of strikes, the force of those strikes and the perception of him having gained through his actions an unfair advantage over other drivers justifies an increase in the penalty by $100.


penalty:

Mr Mangos is fined $400.

hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 869(2)(a)


Informant: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Mangos - Open Horseman


Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 658473fff1ef3326eab12ac4fe9615ff


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R4


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 1d0aa8ff94ad17827e15dba3fce0ada1


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 16/10/2015


meet_title: Auckland TC - 16 October 2015


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: auckland-tc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: PWilliams


meet_pm1: AGodsalve


meet_pm2: none


name: Auckland TC