Forbury Park TC 1 July 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA13673
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 1 July 2016
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2016/07/01
Race Number:
R 6
Decision:
We thus find the breach proved.
Penalty:
We impose a fine of $350.
Facts:
Mr Tidmarsh, Stipendiary Steward alleged that Mr Williamson, CULLER CODED, drove carelessly when shifting inwards when not clear of RAPHOE which broke near the 1000 metres in race 6 the STUNIN CULLEN FORBURY SPRINT SERIES FINAL MOBILE PACE.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Tidmarsh first called Mr S Walkinshaw, the driver of RAPHOE to give evidence. Mr Walkinshaw stated that as they raced into the bend out of the home straight Mr Williamson came across but did not quite get across him and RAPHOE galloped. Mr Walkinshaw said the respondent still had half a wheel to go as he crossed in front. At the time he did not think there was contact but on looking at the video he could see there was contact between Mr Williamson’s wheel and the leg of his horse. Mr Williamson’s cart had brushed the leg of RAPHOE and the horse had over-reacted and galloped.
Mr Williamson questioned Mr Walkinshaw. He agreed it was RAPHOE’s first start since coming off the unruly list and that it was a hard horse to drive. He accepted a driver could not touch the horse’s mouth. He agreed there was room to his inside where Mr Close was racing. He added he was trying to keep a straight line. Mr Walkinshaw emphasised the respondent should have been half a wheel further ahead when he crossed and he would have been okay 2 strides later. He said it was touch and go and he did not yell to Mr Williamson.
Mr Tidmarsh then demonstrated the incident on the videos. He said CULLER CODED had drawn 7 and the respondent was urging his horse forward to get down to the running line. Mr Williamson had shifted in when not clear and his sulky wheel had made contact with a leg of RAPHOE, which galloped. He said the respondent was moving from 5 to 4 wide at the time. He emphasised Mr Walkinshaw was entitled to his line of running and that he owed a duty of care to the drivers on his inside, in particular Mr Close who was racing 3 wide.
Mr Williamson opened his defence by referring to RAPHOE’s record. He reiterated the horse had just come off the unruly and that its racing manners were unpredictable. He alleged the horse had galloped in many of its races. He said Mr Walkinshaw could have given him more room as there was a gap to his inside but he had not attempted to, because he was on RAPHOE and knew its racing manners. There was half a metre to Mr Walkinshaw’s inside in which he could have moved. That was the difference between his clearing that horse and his not. He said his inwards movement was not sudden and that RAPHOE was solely to blame for the contact. The horse was not racing 4 carts out but was wider. Mr Walkinshaw was 4 1/2 cart widths out and he was merely easing Mr Walkinshaw down to 4 wide.
Mr Tidmarsh replied Mr Williamson had shifted in when not the required distance clear. Mr Walkinshaw was “a loose” 4 wide at the time and RAPHOE had broken due to contact.
Mr Williamson summed up by referring to the easing down regulations. He said a move could be made with safety if there was a clear advantage and the movement was gradual and acceptable. He was adamant all 3 requirements had been met in this instance. He said in 2 more strides he would have been past RAPHOE and that Mr Walkinshaw had not moved down because a driver could not afford to touch the horse’s mouth.
Reasons for Decision:
We are satisfied that in coming from a 5 wide to a 4 wide position Mr Williamson’s cart has brushed a leg of RAPHOE and that horse has galloped out of the race losing all chance. Whatever the racing manners of RAPHOE, and in this regard we note both drivers accept the horse is difficult to drive, Mr Walkinshaw was entitled to be positioned where he was on the track as he raced into the bend. It was the respondent’s obligation to keep clear of RAPHOE. There is no suggestion that RAPHOE has shifted out and, while there was a small gap to Mr Close on Mr Walkinshaw’s inside, Mr Close was always racing 3 wide and Mr Walkinshaw was 4 wide. Mr Williamson’s statement that he could ease Mr Walkinshaw down with safety is incorrect.
In our view the respondent is guilty of a misjudgement in that he has come across too quickly and he has stopped pushing CULLER CODED forward momentarily as he entered the bend. Mr Walkinshaw is correct when he says the respondent’s timing was out by about half a wheel or some 2 strides. But unfortunately this was a sufficient margin to come into contact with RAPHOE and to extinguish that horse’s chances.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Tidmarsh produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule for the past 12 months. He said Mr Williamson had had over 1070 drives in the past 2 seasons. He submitted a fine in the $300 to $400 range was appropriate.
Mr Williamson submitted a fine at the lower end was appropriate. He reiterated he did not believe he had beached the rule and that RAPHOE was at fault.
Reasons for Penalty:
An aggravating factor is that RAPHOE has galloped as a consequence of the contact and has lost all chance in the race. We believe the breach is mid range and we adopt a $500 starting point as recommended in the Penalty Guide.
Credit has to be given for the respondent’s excellent record with respect to this rule. We would ordinarily give a discount of $100 for this mitigating factor, however when consideration is given to the frequency with which Mr Williamson drives, we believe a further $50 reduction is appropriate to recognise this fact.
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: 570737dc892df21b65cf76c7e025dca3
informantnumber: A7636
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/07/2016
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 1 July 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Tidmarsh, Stipendiary Steward alleged that Mr Williamson, CULLER CODED, drove carelessly when shifting inwards when not clear of RAPHOE which broke near the 1000 metres in race 6 the STUNIN CULLEN FORBURY SPRINT SERIES FINAL MOBILE PACE.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Tidmarsh first called Mr S Walkinshaw, the driver of RAPHOE to give evidence. Mr Walkinshaw stated that as they raced into the bend out of the home straight Mr Williamson came across but did not quite get across him and RAPHOE galloped. Mr Walkinshaw said the respondent still had half a wheel to go as he crossed in front. At the time he did not think there was contact but on looking at the video he could see there was contact between Mr Williamson’s wheel and the leg of his horse. Mr Williamson’s cart had brushed the leg of RAPHOE and the horse had over-reacted and galloped.
Mr Williamson questioned Mr Walkinshaw. He agreed it was RAPHOE’s first start since coming off the unruly list and that it was a hard horse to drive. He accepted a driver could not touch the horse’s mouth. He agreed there was room to his inside where Mr Close was racing. He added he was trying to keep a straight line. Mr Walkinshaw emphasised the respondent should have been half a wheel further ahead when he crossed and he would have been okay 2 strides later. He said it was touch and go and he did not yell to Mr Williamson.
Mr Tidmarsh then demonstrated the incident on the videos. He said CULLER CODED had drawn 7 and the respondent was urging his horse forward to get down to the running line. Mr Williamson had shifted in when not clear and his sulky wheel had made contact with a leg of RAPHOE, which galloped. He said the respondent was moving from 5 to 4 wide at the time. He emphasised Mr Walkinshaw was entitled to his line of running and that he owed a duty of care to the drivers on his inside, in particular Mr Close who was racing 3 wide.
Mr Williamson opened his defence by referring to RAPHOE’s record. He reiterated the horse had just come off the unruly and that its racing manners were unpredictable. He alleged the horse had galloped in many of its races. He said Mr Walkinshaw could have given him more room as there was a gap to his inside but he had not attempted to, because he was on RAPHOE and knew its racing manners. There was half a metre to Mr Walkinshaw’s inside in which he could have moved. That was the difference between his clearing that horse and his not. He said his inwards movement was not sudden and that RAPHOE was solely to blame for the contact. The horse was not racing 4 carts out but was wider. Mr Walkinshaw was 4 1/2 cart widths out and he was merely easing Mr Walkinshaw down to 4 wide.
Mr Tidmarsh replied Mr Williamson had shifted in when not the required distance clear. Mr Walkinshaw was “a loose” 4 wide at the time and RAPHOE had broken due to contact.
Mr Williamson summed up by referring to the easing down regulations. He said a move could be made with safety if there was a clear advantage and the movement was gradual and acceptable. He was adamant all 3 requirements had been met in this instance. He said in 2 more strides he would have been past RAPHOE and that Mr Walkinshaw had not moved down because a driver could not afford to touch the horse’s mouth.
reasonsfordecision:
We are satisfied that in coming from a 5 wide to a 4 wide position Mr Williamson’s cart has brushed a leg of RAPHOE and that horse has galloped out of the race losing all chance. Whatever the racing manners of RAPHOE, and in this regard we note both drivers accept the horse is difficult to drive, Mr Walkinshaw was entitled to be positioned where he was on the track as he raced into the bend. It was the respondent’s obligation to keep clear of RAPHOE. There is no suggestion that RAPHOE has shifted out and, while there was a small gap to Mr Close on Mr Walkinshaw’s inside, Mr Close was always racing 3 wide and Mr Walkinshaw was 4 wide. Mr Williamson’s statement that he could ease Mr Walkinshaw down with safety is incorrect.
In our view the respondent is guilty of a misjudgement in that he has come across too quickly and he has stopped pushing CULLER CODED forward momentarily as he entered the bend. Mr Walkinshaw is correct when he says the respondent’s timing was out by about half a wheel or some 2 strides. But unfortunately this was a sufficient margin to come into contact with RAPHOE and to extinguish that horse’s chances.
Decision:
We thus find the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Tidmarsh produced the respondent’s record, which was clear under this rule for the past 12 months. He said Mr Williamson had had over 1070 drives in the past 2 seasons. He submitted a fine in the $300 to $400 range was appropriate.
Mr Williamson submitted a fine at the lower end was appropriate. He reiterated he did not believe he had beached the rule and that RAPHOE was at fault.
reasonsforpenalty:
An aggravating factor is that RAPHOE has galloped as a consequence of the contact and has lost all chance in the race. We believe the breach is mid range and we adopt a $500 starting point as recommended in the Penalty Guide.
Credit has to be given for the respondent’s excellent record with respect to this rule. We would ordinarily give a discount of $100 for this mitigating factor, however when consideration is given to the frequency with which Mr Williamson drives, we believe a further $50 reduction is appropriate to recognise this fact.
penalty:
We impose a fine of $350.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr L Tidmarsh - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr N Williamson - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr S Walkinshaw - Driver of RAPHOE
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ff7320301fc10e8fc8824366ffcf1ffa
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 6
submittochair:
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race_km:
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meetdate: 01/07/2016
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 1 July 2016
meet_expappcomment:
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tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC