Wanganui RC 29 November 2014 – R 2
ID: JCA13738
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wanganui JC - 29 November 2014
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2014/11/29
Race Number:
R 2
Decision:
In our view having considered the films and the evidence at length the charge of careless riding was found proved.
Penalty:
Ms Myers is suspended from riding from the close of racing on Saturday December 6th up to and including racing on Friday December 12th – four riding days.
7/12/14 - Waipukurau
10/12/14 - Auckland/Otago
11/12/14 - Hastings
12/12/14 - Tauranga
Facts:
Following the running of Race 2, Jolt Coffee House 1600m, an Information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged that R Myers allowed her mount SLAZENJAH to shift in rounding the first turn when not clear of DOING TIME (R Hannam) which was taken in onto LET ME THINK (K Myers) which was checked.
Mr Goodwin read out the careless riding rule and Ms Myers acknowledged she understood the nature of the charge. She confirmed to the committee that she was not admitting the breach.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Goodwin called three riders as witnesses.
Mr Bradley said he drew barrier 1 and had a clean run into the first turn. On the bend he noticed a lot of pressure coming from the outside but he was unaware of who was causing it. Following questioning from the Stewards Mr Bradley agreed his horse had been racing in a tractable manner at the time and had not moved outwards.
Ms Kelly Myers (LET ME THINK) said she went into the first bend free of interference but then received tightening from Mr Hannam who was racing to her immediate outside. She said she was aware that there was another rider outside of Mr Hannam but it was difficult to tell where the pressure started from. As a result of the tightening Ms Kelly Myers lost a “nice, handy” position in the field. She said Mr Hannam was about ¾ length in front when the incident occurred and she was lucky to stand up when she clipped the heels of his horse.
Ms Rosie Myers had two questions for Ms K Myers. She asked if the mount of Mr Hannam, DOING TIME, was a handful to ride. Ms K Myers, who had ridden the horse at its previous start at Awapuni, confirmed that it was. In response to the second question Ms K Myers agreed that the mile start at Wanganui could be a problem. Ms Rosie Myers explained to the Chairman that the bend was very sharp and with a large fifteen-horse field like today it gets very tight.
Mr Hannam said he was in a three-wide position heading into the first bend with Ms Kelly Myers to his inside and Ms Rosie Myers on his outside. As they rounded the bend Ms Rosie Myers, who was approximately ¾ lengths in front of him, moved inwards creating pressure for him and consequently Ms Kelly Myers. Mr Hannam suggested the wind may have been an issue. He explained that he was unable to relieve the pressure because his horse was a heavy-headed type and he couldn’t pull it back fast enough.
In response to questioning from Mr Goodwin, Mr Hannam said the movement by Ms Rosie Myers had initially been a gradual one but then she had made a quick inward movement. He called out to her when he saw the incident unfolding and was forced to pull back and turn his horse’s head inwards to dodge her heels.
Responding to questions from Ms Rosie Myers, Mr Hannam agreed that the mile start at Wanganui was an issue and also that his horse is a hard horse to handle.
Mr Goodwin asked Mr Jones to show the films of the incident and identify all the runners. Mr Bradley was on the fence and outside of him in order was: Ms Kelly Myers, Mr R Hannam and Ms Rosie Myers.
Mr Jones showed the field approaching the first turn and Ms Rosie Myers applying gradual pressure to runners on her inside before moving inwards when not clear of Mr Hannam. At no time was she the required distance clear and as a result of the interference Ms Kelly Myers was checked badly, blundered and lost approximately five lengths of ground.
Responding to questions from Ms Myers, Mr Jones said, in his opinion, no other horse contributed to the incident and he could not see on the films if Ms Rosie Myers was trying to restrain her mount at the time by pulling on the right-hand rein.
Ms Myers put forward the following mitigating circumstances:
--It was very windy which affected the horses
--The mile shute is renowned for being tricky and the field of 15 horses was too large
--The erratic racing manners of Mr Hannam’s horse
--The incident occurred on a bend where horses naturally angle in
--Her belief that she did as much as she could to help her horse around the bend
--The racing manners of SLAZENJAH, referencing its first start at Otaki in April 2014, when having its first start
Ms Myers requested the films of the race at Otaki on 3/4/14 be shown. The committee allowed her to put this forward as evidence only in respect to the racing manners of SLAZENJAH. Ms Myers highlighted a similar incident in this race when SLAZENJAH, (on this occasion ridden by Mr Hutchings) moved inwards and caused a resultant fall to Ms Myers. Mr Goodwin was given the opportunity to respond but indicated he did not wish to.
In summing up, Mr Goodwin said all horses had been racing in a tractable manner prior to the incident, including the mount of Ms Rosie Myers. There was a sharp sudden movement from Ms Rosie Myers when the horses were almost around the bend which resulted in Ms Kelly Myers being tightened and clipping a heel. The Stewards were of the opinion that Ms Myers had been careless in allowing her mount to move inwards when not clear of Mr Hannam.
Ms Myers concluded by saying that the inward movement was the result of horses naturally laying in when rounding a bend.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee had careful regard to all of the submissions and evidence placed before it by both the Stewards and Ms Myers.
The specific evidence of Mr Hannam was clear in that Ms Myers was only ¾ length clear of his mount when she moved inwards and this was supported by the videos that were presented. Further evidence from the riders involved indicated that the pressure came solely from the outside. There was no suggestion of any movement from the rail outwards.
Ms Myers put forward the argument that the size of the field and the nature of the bend contributed to the incident however it was clear from the films that the majority of the field was racing in behind this group of horses as they entered the first turn.
We were not satisfied by the evidence presented, or the films shown, that the racing manners of any of the horses involved were to blame for the interference. Nor were we satisfied that Ms Myers took sufficient corrective action to prevent the tightening from occurring.
As part of her rationale for not admitting the breach, Ms Myers raised the issue of her perception of Stewards’ inconsistencies when laying charges, but she was advised by the committee that this was not relevant to today’s charge, and would not be taken into account.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Goodwin said Ms Myers had a very good riding record and had not been charged with careless riding since March this year. Prior to that her records showed a 4 day suspension imposed at Hawkes Bay on 1/1/14. Mr Goodwin said she was one of the country’s leading riders and one of the busiest. The Stewards placed the degree of carelessness as above midrange and submitted that a period of suspension of not less than five days was an appropriate penalty.
Ms Myers asked the committee to consider her very good riding record and the number of rides that she has. She also said she had only just become aware of the fact that the rail was out on that part of the bend and therefore that was a mitigating factor along with the fact that she was trying to be as careful as possible under the circumstances.
Ms Myers advised the committee of riding commitments next Saturday.
Reasons for Penalty:
In coming to a decision on penalty the committee adopted, as a starting point, a five day suspension. We assessed the degree of carelessness as sitting in the midrange. Ms Kelly Myers suffered a significant check and while Ms Myers did not take sufficient action to prevent her mount from moving inwards it was our opinion that the incident was exacerbated by the difficult nature of the bend combined with the strong tempo of the race at that stage.
We have given her credit for her excellent record, and note the large number of rides that she has, reducing her suspension by one day.
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: 5e8a0d90711f001c1f093a038eeea686
informantnumber: A6774
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 25/11/2014
hearing_title: Wanganui RC 29 November 2014 - R 2
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 2, Jolt Coffee House 1600m, an Information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged that R Myers allowed her mount SLAZENJAH to shift in rounding the first turn when not clear of DOING TIME (R Hannam) which was taken in onto LET ME THINK (K Myers) which was checked.
Mr Goodwin read out the careless riding rule and Ms Myers acknowledged she understood the nature of the charge. She confirmed to the committee that she was not admitting the breach.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Goodwin called three riders as witnesses.
Mr Bradley said he drew barrier 1 and had a clean run into the first turn. On the bend he noticed a lot of pressure coming from the outside but he was unaware of who was causing it. Following questioning from the Stewards Mr Bradley agreed his horse had been racing in a tractable manner at the time and had not moved outwards.
Ms Kelly Myers (LET ME THINK) said she went into the first bend free of interference but then received tightening from Mr Hannam who was racing to her immediate outside. She said she was aware that there was another rider outside of Mr Hannam but it was difficult to tell where the pressure started from. As a result of the tightening Ms Kelly Myers lost a “nice, handy” position in the field. She said Mr Hannam was about ¾ length in front when the incident occurred and she was lucky to stand up when she clipped the heels of his horse.
Ms Rosie Myers had two questions for Ms K Myers. She asked if the mount of Mr Hannam, DOING TIME, was a handful to ride. Ms K Myers, who had ridden the horse at its previous start at Awapuni, confirmed that it was. In response to the second question Ms K Myers agreed that the mile start at Wanganui could be a problem. Ms Rosie Myers explained to the Chairman that the bend was very sharp and with a large fifteen-horse field like today it gets very tight.
Mr Hannam said he was in a three-wide position heading into the first bend with Ms Kelly Myers to his inside and Ms Rosie Myers on his outside. As they rounded the bend Ms Rosie Myers, who was approximately ¾ lengths in front of him, moved inwards creating pressure for him and consequently Ms Kelly Myers. Mr Hannam suggested the wind may have been an issue. He explained that he was unable to relieve the pressure because his horse was a heavy-headed type and he couldn’t pull it back fast enough.
In response to questioning from Mr Goodwin, Mr Hannam said the movement by Ms Rosie Myers had initially been a gradual one but then she had made a quick inward movement. He called out to her when he saw the incident unfolding and was forced to pull back and turn his horse’s head inwards to dodge her heels.
Responding to questions from Ms Rosie Myers, Mr Hannam agreed that the mile start at Wanganui was an issue and also that his horse is a hard horse to handle.
Mr Goodwin asked Mr Jones to show the films of the incident and identify all the runners. Mr Bradley was on the fence and outside of him in order was: Ms Kelly Myers, Mr R Hannam and Ms Rosie Myers.
Mr Jones showed the field approaching the first turn and Ms Rosie Myers applying gradual pressure to runners on her inside before moving inwards when not clear of Mr Hannam. At no time was she the required distance clear and as a result of the interference Ms Kelly Myers was checked badly, blundered and lost approximately five lengths of ground.
Responding to questions from Ms Myers, Mr Jones said, in his opinion, no other horse contributed to the incident and he could not see on the films if Ms Rosie Myers was trying to restrain her mount at the time by pulling on the right-hand rein.
Ms Myers put forward the following mitigating circumstances:
--It was very windy which affected the horses
--The mile shute is renowned for being tricky and the field of 15 horses was too large
--The erratic racing manners of Mr Hannam’s horse
--The incident occurred on a bend where horses naturally angle in
--Her belief that she did as much as she could to help her horse around the bend
--The racing manners of SLAZENJAH, referencing its first start at Otaki in April 2014, when having its first start
Ms Myers requested the films of the race at Otaki on 3/4/14 be shown. The committee allowed her to put this forward as evidence only in respect to the racing manners of SLAZENJAH. Ms Myers highlighted a similar incident in this race when SLAZENJAH, (on this occasion ridden by Mr Hutchings) moved inwards and caused a resultant fall to Ms Myers. Mr Goodwin was given the opportunity to respond but indicated he did not wish to.
In summing up, Mr Goodwin said all horses had been racing in a tractable manner prior to the incident, including the mount of Ms Rosie Myers. There was a sharp sudden movement from Ms Rosie Myers when the horses were almost around the bend which resulted in Ms Kelly Myers being tightened and clipping a heel. The Stewards were of the opinion that Ms Myers had been careless in allowing her mount to move inwards when not clear of Mr Hannam.
Ms Myers concluded by saying that the inward movement was the result of horses naturally laying in when rounding a bend.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee had careful regard to all of the submissions and evidence placed before it by both the Stewards and Ms Myers.
The specific evidence of Mr Hannam was clear in that Ms Myers was only ¾ length clear of his mount when she moved inwards and this was supported by the videos that were presented. Further evidence from the riders involved indicated that the pressure came solely from the outside. There was no suggestion of any movement from the rail outwards.
Ms Myers put forward the argument that the size of the field and the nature of the bend contributed to the incident however it was clear from the films that the majority of the field was racing in behind this group of horses as they entered the first turn.
We were not satisfied by the evidence presented, or the films shown, that the racing manners of any of the horses involved were to blame for the interference. Nor were we satisfied that Ms Myers took sufficient corrective action to prevent the tightening from occurring.
As part of her rationale for not admitting the breach, Ms Myers raised the issue of her perception of Stewards’ inconsistencies when laying charges, but she was advised by the committee that this was not relevant to today’s charge, and would not be taken into account.
Decision:
In our view having considered the films and the evidence at length the charge of careless riding was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Goodwin said Ms Myers had a very good riding record and had not been charged with careless riding since March this year. Prior to that her records showed a 4 day suspension imposed at Hawkes Bay on 1/1/14. Mr Goodwin said she was one of the country’s leading riders and one of the busiest. The Stewards placed the degree of carelessness as above midrange and submitted that a period of suspension of not less than five days was an appropriate penalty.
Ms Myers asked the committee to consider her very good riding record and the number of rides that she has. She also said she had only just become aware of the fact that the rail was out on that part of the bend and therefore that was a mitigating factor along with the fact that she was trying to be as careful as possible under the circumstances.
Ms Myers advised the committee of riding commitments next Saturday.
reasonsforpenalty:
In coming to a decision on penalty the committee adopted, as a starting point, a five day suspension. We assessed the degree of carelessness as sitting in the midrange. Ms Kelly Myers suffered a significant check and while Ms Myers did not take sufficient action to prevent her mount from moving inwards it was our opinion that the incident was exacerbated by the difficult nature of the bend combined with the strong tempo of the race at that stage.
We have given her credit for her excellent record, and note the large number of rides that she has, reducing her suspension by one day.
penalty:
Ms Myers is suspended from riding from the close of racing on Saturday December 6th up to and including racing on Friday December 12th – four riding days.
7/12/14 - Waipukurau
10/12/14 - Auckland/Otago
11/12/14 - Hastings
12/12/14 - Tauranga
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer: Ms R Myers - Licensed Rider
Otherperson: Mr D Bradley - Licensed Rider, Mr R Hannam - Licensed Rider, Ms K Myers - Licensed Rider, Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr B Jones - Trainee Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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meet_title: Wanganui JC - 29 November 2014
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