Roxburgh TC 4 January 2013 – R 9
ID: JCA13287
Meet Title:
Roxburgh TC - 4 January 2013
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2013/01/04
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
As Mr Forbes admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Forbes is fined the sum of $250 and reminded of his professional obligations.
Charge:
Using whip in an unnecessary and improper manner.
Facts:
Mr Renault alleged that Mr Forbes (LORD FORBES) used his whip in an unnecessary and improper manner near the 600 metres when using his whip on LORD FORBES below the level of the sulky shafts in an attempt to strike the horse’s hind leg.
Mr Forbes admitted the breach.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault demonstrated on the videos that LORD FORBES was commencing to tire at the 1000 metres. The horse was at the rear of the field and was dropping out. The videos evidenced the respondent using the whip outside the confines of the sulky, reaching forward and hitting LORD FORBES around the hind leg. He was unsure if there was contact but the strike was clearly below the level of the shaft.
Mr Forbes accepted that Mr Renault’s evaluation of the videos was correct. He said it was only one strike and he was wanting to see if LORD FORBES, which he was intending to retire after his next run, was “having him on”. He said he concluded the horse, which had served a mare earlier in the week, had had enough. He emphasised his actions caused no danger to any other runners, as he was alone at the rear of the field. He said it was a flick of the whip, not a hit, and he was unsure if he had made contact.
Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule. He said Mr Forbes had had 336 lifetime drives, 15 last season and 2 this. He submitted a suspension would be ineffective and said a fine in the range of $250 to $300 was appropriate.
Reasons for Penalty:
We accept Mr Renault’s submission that the hitting of LORD FORBES in this manner is improper. The strike, which is below the sulky shaft and near the hind leg of the horse, can clearly be seen on the Trackside video and is not a good look for harness racing. We accept the motivation was to determine whether the horse was performing at his best or should be retired, but that is no excuse for breaching the rules in this fashion.
In mitigation the respondent has admitted the breach and has a clear record under this rule.
Mr Forbes drives no other horse.
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: 5dd9cdd5e13626568bbd4e2b8e023f35
informantnumber: 1957
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 18/12/2012
hearing_title: Roxburgh TC 4 January 2013 - R 9
charge:
Using whip in an unnecessary and improper manner.
facts:
Mr Renault alleged that Mr Forbes (LORD FORBES) used his whip in an unnecessary and improper manner near the 600 metres when using his whip on LORD FORBES below the level of the sulky shafts in an attempt to strike the horse’s hind leg.
Mr Forbes admitted the breach.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Forbes admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault demonstrated on the videos that LORD FORBES was commencing to tire at the 1000 metres. The horse was at the rear of the field and was dropping out. The videos evidenced the respondent using the whip outside the confines of the sulky, reaching forward and hitting LORD FORBES around the hind leg. He was unsure if there was contact but the strike was clearly below the level of the shaft.
Mr Forbes accepted that Mr Renault’s evaluation of the videos was correct. He said it was only one strike and he was wanting to see if LORD FORBES, which he was intending to retire after his next run, was “having him on”. He said he concluded the horse, which had served a mare earlier in the week, had had enough. He emphasised his actions caused no danger to any other runners, as he was alone at the rear of the field. He said it was a flick of the whip, not a hit, and he was unsure if he had made contact.
Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule. He said Mr Forbes had had 336 lifetime drives, 15 last season and 2 this. He submitted a suspension would be ineffective and said a fine in the range of $250 to $300 was appropriate.
reasonsforpenalty:
We accept Mr Renault’s submission that the hitting of LORD FORBES in this manner is improper. The strike, which is below the sulky shaft and near the hind leg of the horse, can clearly be seen on the Trackside video and is not a good look for harness racing. We accept the motivation was to determine whether the horse was performing at his best or should be retired, but that is no excuse for breaching the rules in this fashion.
In mitigation the respondent has admitted the breach and has a clear record under this rule.
Mr Forbes drives no other horse.
penalty:
Mr Forbes is fined the sum of $250 and reminded of his professional obligations.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr G Forbes - Licensed Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: dce719a8a833d976ec555c90dcd48c65
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: adf379ebf278b227f0f0de9da2d8cf5b
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/01/2013
meet_title: Roxburgh TC - 4 January 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: roxburgh-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Roxburgh TC