Hawkes Bay RI 3 October 2015 – R 6 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt
ID: JCA14040
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Hawkes Bay RI - 3 October 2015
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2015/10/03
Race Number:
R 6
Decision:
On the basis of the evidence and submissions put before the committee the charge of careless riding was found proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly Mr McKay is suspended from riding from the close of racing on Saturday October 10th up to and including racing on Friday October 23rd -six riding days.
Race days included in the penalty are:
14/10/15 Avondale
15/10/15 Woodville
16/10/15 Tauranga
17/10/15 Otaki/Rotorua
21/10/15 Te Aroha
23/10/15 Waipa
Facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Sacred Falls Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Group 2), an information was lodged by Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged S McKay allowed his mount to shift inwards after the start dictating LUCKY EDIE (J Parkes) inwards onto ROCANTO (D Johnson) when not clear.
Mr McKay acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and confirmed he did not admit the breach. Due to his status as an apprentice rider his employer, Mr Peter McKay, was also present at the hearing.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Neal began by asking Mr Goodwin to outline the incident using the videos. Mr McKay was aboard AMARULA who jumped from barrier 10. The two runners he was alleged to have caused interference to were LUCKY EDIE who drew barrier 7 and ROCANTO from barrier 5. Mr Goodwin played the head-on video from the start and said, after jumping, Mr McKay made a concerted effort to get near to the lead. In doing so he crossed in front of LUCKY EDIE, when not the required distance clear of that runner which in turn caused tightening to ROCANTO ridden by Ms D Johnston. As a result of the interference ROCANTO lost approximately 1 ½ to 2 lengths in ground and its favourable position in the field.
Mr Peter McKay cross examined by asking Mr Goodwin if he thought Shaun McKay was trying to angle across to get to the rail or if he was trying to angle off the horses to his inside as he moved across. Mr Goodwin said he was moving across the field but in his opinion misjudged his distance in front of the other runners.
Ms Johnson, the rider of ROCANTO gave evidence. She told the hearing that ROCANTO jumped well out of the gates and her intention was to go forward and sit in behind the leaders however two of the outside horses had come across quickly which placed her in an awkward position. As a result she was forced to restrain off the heels of Mr Parkes’ mount.
Mr Parkes, the rider of LUCKY EDIE, gave evidence. He told the committee he received pressure from his outside as a result of which he had to take hold of his mount which then dropped back onto Ms Johnson. Mr Parkes acknowledged the tightening came from Mr McKay. Mr McKay asked Mr Parkes, if in his opinion, Shaun McKay was trying to pull off the other horses. Mr Parkes’ reply was somewhat vague but said he thought Shaun McKay was trying to cross to the rail gradually.
Mr Neal concluded by saying Mr McKay was going forward and looking to obtain a position adjacent to the running rail. Unfortunately, as he moved across, he misjudged the distance and in not being clear of Mr Parkes caused interference to two runners.
Mr McKay, the trainer of AMARULA, said it was the horse’s first time in blinkers and the head-on film showed him racing slightly greenly. After leaving the starting gates he headed wide on the track before Shaun McKay managed to angled him inwards. From that point Shaun McKay kept looking inwards to make sure he cleared the horses to his inside. There was a horse width between AMARULA and LUCKY EDIE when Shaun McKay turned his mount’s head outwards in an attempt to pull off but AMARULA kept going for a couple of extra strides and moved in a further half horse width which caused the crowding. When this happened Mr McKay maintained Shaun McKay did the right thing by continuing to ride forward in an effort to relieve the tightening. Mr McKay also raised the possibility that AMARULA was distracted by a caravan and other vehicles to the side of the track.
Mr Neal asked Mr McKay if he thought that the fact the horse was racing greenly leaving the barriers, should signal the rider that extra care was needed and more room be afforded to other riders. Mr McKay said horses did not respond like cars and they did not always react like you wanted them to. Sitting four or five deep was not an option. He maintained Shaun McKay tried to straighten AMARULA but the horse continued inwards for another three strides.
In his defence Mr Shaun McKay used the films to show where he tried to straighten AMARULA on two occasions. He said the horse was a bit “gawky” and being the first time in blinkers tended to look around. When the side-on film was played Shaun McKay admitted crossing LUCKY EDIE too tightly but said Mr Parkes did not have to take a severe hold on his mount as a result.
Reasons for Decision:
Ms Johnson and Mr Parkes gave evidence of receiving pressure from a horse/s on their outside. Mr McKay, the rider of AMARULA, admitted that he had crossed over in front of Mr Parkes too tightly and the side-on film confirmed this by showing he was only a bare length clear when he did so.
The submissions from Mr Peter McKay and Shaun McKay suggested that the racing manners of the horse were to blame for the interference and that the rider, Shaun McKay, was not careless because he had made an attempt to pull his horse off Mr Parkes’ mount.
While Mr McKay is an apprentice rider he is not inexperienced and when AMARULA began racing ungenerously after the jump he should have allowed more room between himself and the horses to his inside. The head-on film did show AMARULA with its head turned slightly outwards which supports Mr McKay’s evidence that he did try to pull off but at the same time he continued on a sustained inwards movement.
The Committee thought it highly unlikely that AMARULA had been spooked by vehicles off the track. This was raised for the first time at the conclusion of all other submissions and was not supported by any further evidence.
In our opinion Mr McKay did not take sufficient action to keep his mount off the horses to his inside and he was, at best, only one length clear when he crossed in front of Mr Parkes.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Neal presented Mr McKay’s previous riding record:
22/8/15 5 days
1/6/15 5 days
17/1/15 4 days
14/11/14 4 days
With respect to this incident Mr Neal said it occurred in the early stage of the race and while the check suffered by Ms Johnson was not “fatal’ to her chances she nevertheless lost a prominent position in the race. The race was a Group 2 and Mr McKay went on to win the race. The Stewards submitted the level of interference was towards the lower side of mid-range and Mr McKay’s record was not a bad one considering the number of rides he gets. Mr Neal said the starting point for careless riding charges was five days and on this occasion the Stewards could see no reason to depart from that.
Mr McKay was invited to make submissions on penalty but declined to do so. In the event of a suspension being imposed Mr McKay advised of riding commitments through until next Saturday and requested a deferment until after that day.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee adopted a starting point of 5 days as recommended in the Judicial Control Authority’s Penalty Guideline. The incident happened at the start of the race when all riders are seeking the best position for their mounts. Ms Johnson’s evidence showed that as result of the interference she lost her forward place in behind the leaders. We assessed the degree of carelessness as in the low-midrange.
Mr McKay’s record was assessed as a neutral factor being neither good nor particularly bad. There were no identifiable mitigating factors to take into account however the Group 2 status of the race was an aggravating factor to which we applied a one day uplift. It was our opinion that a six day suspension was an appropriate penalty.
The Committee questioned Mr McKay regarding his riding history and future riding engagements. On the basis of that information we were satisfied that he rides throughout the Northern and Central districts.
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: 8faa9b79d1c5ef6d70cfcf0c5c9749ca
informantnumber: A3506
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 07/10/2015
hearing_title: Hawkes Bay RI 3 October 2015 - R 6 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Sacred Falls Hawke’s Bay Guineas (Group 2), an information was lodged by Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged S McKay allowed his mount to shift inwards after the start dictating LUCKY EDIE (J Parkes) inwards onto ROCANTO (D Johnson) when not clear.
Mr McKay acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and confirmed he did not admit the breach. Due to his status as an apprentice rider his employer, Mr Peter McKay, was also present at the hearing.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Neal began by asking Mr Goodwin to outline the incident using the videos. Mr McKay was aboard AMARULA who jumped from barrier 10. The two runners he was alleged to have caused interference to were LUCKY EDIE who drew barrier 7 and ROCANTO from barrier 5. Mr Goodwin played the head-on video from the start and said, after jumping, Mr McKay made a concerted effort to get near to the lead. In doing so he crossed in front of LUCKY EDIE, when not the required distance clear of that runner which in turn caused tightening to ROCANTO ridden by Ms D Johnston. As a result of the interference ROCANTO lost approximately 1 ½ to 2 lengths in ground and its favourable position in the field.
Mr Peter McKay cross examined by asking Mr Goodwin if he thought Shaun McKay was trying to angle across to get to the rail or if he was trying to angle off the horses to his inside as he moved across. Mr Goodwin said he was moving across the field but in his opinion misjudged his distance in front of the other runners.
Ms Johnson, the rider of ROCANTO gave evidence. She told the hearing that ROCANTO jumped well out of the gates and her intention was to go forward and sit in behind the leaders however two of the outside horses had come across quickly which placed her in an awkward position. As a result she was forced to restrain off the heels of Mr Parkes’ mount.
Mr Parkes, the rider of LUCKY EDIE, gave evidence. He told the committee he received pressure from his outside as a result of which he had to take hold of his mount which then dropped back onto Ms Johnson. Mr Parkes acknowledged the tightening came from Mr McKay. Mr McKay asked Mr Parkes, if in his opinion, Shaun McKay was trying to pull off the other horses. Mr Parkes’ reply was somewhat vague but said he thought Shaun McKay was trying to cross to the rail gradually.
Mr Neal concluded by saying Mr McKay was going forward and looking to obtain a position adjacent to the running rail. Unfortunately, as he moved across, he misjudged the distance and in not being clear of Mr Parkes caused interference to two runners.
Mr McKay, the trainer of AMARULA, said it was the horse’s first time in blinkers and the head-on film showed him racing slightly greenly. After leaving the starting gates he headed wide on the track before Shaun McKay managed to angled him inwards. From that point Shaun McKay kept looking inwards to make sure he cleared the horses to his inside. There was a horse width between AMARULA and LUCKY EDIE when Shaun McKay turned his mount’s head outwards in an attempt to pull off but AMARULA kept going for a couple of extra strides and moved in a further half horse width which caused the crowding. When this happened Mr McKay maintained Shaun McKay did the right thing by continuing to ride forward in an effort to relieve the tightening. Mr McKay also raised the possibility that AMARULA was distracted by a caravan and other vehicles to the side of the track.
Mr Neal asked Mr McKay if he thought that the fact the horse was racing greenly leaving the barriers, should signal the rider that extra care was needed and more room be afforded to other riders. Mr McKay said horses did not respond like cars and they did not always react like you wanted them to. Sitting four or five deep was not an option. He maintained Shaun McKay tried to straighten AMARULA but the horse continued inwards for another three strides.
In his defence Mr Shaun McKay used the films to show where he tried to straighten AMARULA on two occasions. He said the horse was a bit “gawky” and being the first time in blinkers tended to look around. When the side-on film was played Shaun McKay admitted crossing LUCKY EDIE too tightly but said Mr Parkes did not have to take a severe hold on his mount as a result.
reasonsfordecision:
Ms Johnson and Mr Parkes gave evidence of receiving pressure from a horse/s on their outside. Mr McKay, the rider of AMARULA, admitted that he had crossed over in front of Mr Parkes too tightly and the side-on film confirmed this by showing he was only a bare length clear when he did so.
The submissions from Mr Peter McKay and Shaun McKay suggested that the racing manners of the horse were to blame for the interference and that the rider, Shaun McKay, was not careless because he had made an attempt to pull his horse off Mr Parkes’ mount.
While Mr McKay is an apprentice rider he is not inexperienced and when AMARULA began racing ungenerously after the jump he should have allowed more room between himself and the horses to his inside. The head-on film did show AMARULA with its head turned slightly outwards which supports Mr McKay’s evidence that he did try to pull off but at the same time he continued on a sustained inwards movement.
The Committee thought it highly unlikely that AMARULA had been spooked by vehicles off the track. This was raised for the first time at the conclusion of all other submissions and was not supported by any further evidence.
In our opinion Mr McKay did not take sufficient action to keep his mount off the horses to his inside and he was, at best, only one length clear when he crossed in front of Mr Parkes.
Decision:
On the basis of the evidence and submissions put before the committee the charge of careless riding was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Neal presented Mr McKay’s previous riding record:
22/8/15 5 days
1/6/15 5 days
17/1/15 4 days
14/11/14 4 days
With respect to this incident Mr Neal said it occurred in the early stage of the race and while the check suffered by Ms Johnson was not “fatal’ to her chances she nevertheless lost a prominent position in the race. The race was a Group 2 and Mr McKay went on to win the race. The Stewards submitted the level of interference was towards the lower side of mid-range and Mr McKay’s record was not a bad one considering the number of rides he gets. Mr Neal said the starting point for careless riding charges was five days and on this occasion the Stewards could see no reason to depart from that.
Mr McKay was invited to make submissions on penalty but declined to do so. In the event of a suspension being imposed Mr McKay advised of riding commitments through until next Saturday and requested a deferment until after that day.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee adopted a starting point of 5 days as recommended in the Judicial Control Authority’s Penalty Guideline. The incident happened at the start of the race when all riders are seeking the best position for their mounts. Ms Johnson’s evidence showed that as result of the interference she lost her forward place in behind the leaders. We assessed the degree of carelessness as in the low-midrange.
Mr McKay’s record was assessed as a neutral factor being neither good nor particularly bad. There were no identifiable mitigating factors to take into account however the Group 2 status of the race was an aggravating factor to which we applied a one day uplift. It was our opinion that a six day suspension was an appropriate penalty.
The Committee questioned Mr McKay regarding his riding history and future riding engagements. On the basis of that information we were satisfied that he rides throughout the Northern and Central districts.
penalty:
Accordingly Mr McKay is suspended from riding from the close of racing on Saturday October 10th up to and including racing on Friday October 23rd -six riding days.
Race days included in the penalty are:
14/10/15 Avondale
15/10/15 Woodville
16/10/15 Tauranga
17/10/15 Otaki/Rotorua
21/10/15 Te Aroha
23/10/15 Waipa
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant: Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S McKay - Apprentice Rider
Otherperson: Mr P McKay - Licensed Trainer, Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward, Ms D Johnson - Rider of ROCANTO, Mr J Parkes - Rider of LUCKY EDIE
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c559276fbc6ed345188f4b9ad805dafd
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: e0f6375489b08ddf7385598684a9b293
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/10/2015
meet_title: Hawkes Bay RI - 3 October 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: hawkes-bay-ri
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: TUtikere
meet_pm2: none
name: Hawkes Bay RI