NZ Metro TC 22 March 2013 – R 7
ID: JCA14143
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 22 March 2013
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
JPhelan
Race Date:
2013/03/22
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Dunn was fined the sum of $500.
Charge:
Careless Driving
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, “Gotta Go Cullen” Free-For-All (Group 3), an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of CHRISTEN ME in the race, “shifted ground when not sufficiently clear to do so resulting in his horse sustaining interference to the sulky wheel and being pulled up”.
Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McIntyre said that it was the Stewards’ allegation that Mr Dunn, as the driver of CHRISTEN ME, shifted ground inwards when not clear of FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (M Purdon). As a result, Mr Dunn’s near-side sulky wheel was punctured resulting in his horse, the $1.20 favourite for the race, being retired from the race.
Mr McIntyre had Mr N M Ydgren, Stipendiary Steward, point out the incident, near the 1700 metres, on video replays from several different angles. Mr Ydgren pointed out Mr Dunn, driving CHRISTEN ME, progress forward with Mr Purdon on his inside. He then pointed out Mr Dunn look to his inside on several occasions before taking CHRISTEN ME down the track resulting in contact from the off-side front leg of FLY LIKE AN EAGLE with his inside sulky wheel. This would not have happened had Mr Dunn ensured that he was clear of Mr Purdon before shifting down, Mr McIntyre said.
Mr McIntyre submitted that, at no stage, was Mr Dunn clear of Mr Purdon to be able to shift down the track. Mr Purdon’s horse struck the sulky wheel. It was clear from the video replay that the tyre had been punctured and subsequently had come off the wheel rim. Mr Dunn took the horse out of the race “for safety reasons” at about the 1200 metres.
Where the incident took place was just heading to the bend out of the back straight, Mr Dunn said. He said that his horse had got its head round and was hanging in. It went down to the markers quicker than he had wanted it to. Further, he submitted, FLY LIKE AN EAGLE was “quite keen”. CHRISTEN ME had hesitated at the same time, he said. For those reasons, he was denying the charge. It was the horse’s fault rather than his. The horse wore a murphy blind and a rein pricker on the near side. It could be clearly seen that the horse had its head round, Mr Dunn said. If the horse had not turned its head on the bend, he would have been able to keep it out wider until he was clear of the inside horse.
Mr McIntyre said it could be expected of a professional horseman not to be looking behind him if his horse was hanging. He should be looking forward to see that he was giving Mr Purdon enough room. Mr McIntyre agreed that the horse had got its head round but Mr Dunn did not pull on the right rein to pull the horse off Mr Purdon. He had put himself in a position where there was no “margin of error” and, as a result, Mr Purdon had struck his wheel because Mr Dunn was not clear.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee found that, with approximately 1700 metres to run, Mr Dunn on CHRISTEN ME was racing on the outside of the then leader, FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (M Purdon), and was progressing forward to take the lead. It was clear, and it was not disputed by Dunn, that when he crossed FLY LIKE AN EAGLE the off-front leg of that runner struck the inside sulky tyre of CHRISTEN ME. The tyre was flattened as a consequence and eventually came off the wheel rim, resulting in CHRISTEN ME being pulled up with 1200 metres to race.
Mr Dunn submitted that CHRISTEN ME had hung and ran in on the bend. While the Committee found that it did hang, we were not satisfied that Mr Dunn did enough to prevent it crossing FLY LIKE AN EAGLE. We believe he could have done so but believe he misjudged the clearance room and, simply, crossed when there was insufficient room, as alleged in the information. The video evidence did not, in our view, support Mr Dunn’s view of what happened.
We found that Mr Dunn’s driving, on this occasion, fell short of the standard of a reasonable and prudent driver. We found that he drove carelessly and we, therefore, found the charge proved.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McIntyre told the Committee that Mr Dunn has had 663 drives so far this season. He was fined $200 on a charge of careless driving at the Tuapeka meeting on 21 October 2012. The Stewards believed that, on this occasion, the consequential effects were that the $1.20 favourite had been taken out of the race due to Mr Dunn’s actions, placing the breach in the mid to high range.
The Penalty Guide provides for a starting point for a breach of the Rule that has resulted in a relegation of $500. Mr Dunn’s horse being taken out of the race can be likened to a disqualification, Mr McIntyre submitted.
He submitted that a fine of $500 was appropriate in this case.
Mr Dunn submitted that a fine of $500 was “extreme”. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE had struck his horse’s wheel just once. He sought a fine of “much lower than $500”. The Committee put it to Mr Dunn that it was a Group 3 race for a stake of $25,000 and that punters had missed out as a result of his actions. Mr Dunn submitted that it was not a large stake and added that he could have a bad drive on a beaten hot favourite but would not get fined for doing so. Punters accept that things happen in races, Mr Dunn stated.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the starting point of $500 recommended in the Penalty Guide for careless driving “causing a relegation”. The Committee accepted Mr McIntyre’s submission that Mr Dunn’s causing his horse to be eliminated from the race, as was the case, was equivalent to causing it to be relegated for interference. The circumstances of this breach put it at least in the mid to high range. These were aggravating factors, as were the status of the race and the stake payable and the consequential effects referred to.
A mitigating factor taken into account by the Committee was Mr Dunn’s very good record.
Weighing all of the above factors, the Committee decided that a fine of $500 was appropriate.
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: 9e4a55ced942356ee09f91b46349d932
informantnumber: A5290
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 10/03/2013
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 22 March 2013 - R 7
charge:
Careless Driving
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, “Gotta Go Cullen” Free-For-All (Group 3), an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of CHRISTEN ME in the race, “shifted ground when not sufficiently clear to do so resulting in his horse sustaining interference to the sulky wheel and being pulled up”.
Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McIntyre said that it was the Stewards’ allegation that Mr Dunn, as the driver of CHRISTEN ME, shifted ground inwards when not clear of FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (M Purdon). As a result, Mr Dunn’s near-side sulky wheel was punctured resulting in his horse, the $1.20 favourite for the race, being retired from the race.
Mr McIntyre had Mr N M Ydgren, Stipendiary Steward, point out the incident, near the 1700 metres, on video replays from several different angles. Mr Ydgren pointed out Mr Dunn, driving CHRISTEN ME, progress forward with Mr Purdon on his inside. He then pointed out Mr Dunn look to his inside on several occasions before taking CHRISTEN ME down the track resulting in contact from the off-side front leg of FLY LIKE AN EAGLE with his inside sulky wheel. This would not have happened had Mr Dunn ensured that he was clear of Mr Purdon before shifting down, Mr McIntyre said.
Mr McIntyre submitted that, at no stage, was Mr Dunn clear of Mr Purdon to be able to shift down the track. Mr Purdon’s horse struck the sulky wheel. It was clear from the video replay that the tyre had been punctured and subsequently had come off the wheel rim. Mr Dunn took the horse out of the race “for safety reasons” at about the 1200 metres.
Where the incident took place was just heading to the bend out of the back straight, Mr Dunn said. He said that his horse had got its head round and was hanging in. It went down to the markers quicker than he had wanted it to. Further, he submitted, FLY LIKE AN EAGLE was “quite keen”. CHRISTEN ME had hesitated at the same time, he said. For those reasons, he was denying the charge. It was the horse’s fault rather than his. The horse wore a murphy blind and a rein pricker on the near side. It could be clearly seen that the horse had its head round, Mr Dunn said. If the horse had not turned its head on the bend, he would have been able to keep it out wider until he was clear of the inside horse.
Mr McIntyre said it could be expected of a professional horseman not to be looking behind him if his horse was hanging. He should be looking forward to see that he was giving Mr Purdon enough room. Mr McIntyre agreed that the horse had got its head round but Mr Dunn did not pull on the right rein to pull the horse off Mr Purdon. He had put himself in a position where there was no “margin of error” and, as a result, Mr Purdon had struck his wheel because Mr Dunn was not clear.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee found that, with approximately 1700 metres to run, Mr Dunn on CHRISTEN ME was racing on the outside of the then leader, FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (M Purdon), and was progressing forward to take the lead. It was clear, and it was not disputed by Dunn, that when he crossed FLY LIKE AN EAGLE the off-front leg of that runner struck the inside sulky tyre of CHRISTEN ME. The tyre was flattened as a consequence and eventually came off the wheel rim, resulting in CHRISTEN ME being pulled up with 1200 metres to race.
Mr Dunn submitted that CHRISTEN ME had hung and ran in on the bend. While the Committee found that it did hang, we were not satisfied that Mr Dunn did enough to prevent it crossing FLY LIKE AN EAGLE. We believe he could have done so but believe he misjudged the clearance room and, simply, crossed when there was insufficient room, as alleged in the information. The video evidence did not, in our view, support Mr Dunn’s view of what happened.
We found that Mr Dunn’s driving, on this occasion, fell short of the standard of a reasonable and prudent driver. We found that he drove carelessly and we, therefore, found the charge proved.
Decision:
The charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McIntyre told the Committee that Mr Dunn has had 663 drives so far this season. He was fined $200 on a charge of careless driving at the Tuapeka meeting on 21 October 2012. The Stewards believed that, on this occasion, the consequential effects were that the $1.20 favourite had been taken out of the race due to Mr Dunn’s actions, placing the breach in the mid to high range.
The Penalty Guide provides for a starting point for a breach of the Rule that has resulted in a relegation of $500. Mr Dunn’s horse being taken out of the race can be likened to a disqualification, Mr McIntyre submitted.
He submitted that a fine of $500 was appropriate in this case.
Mr Dunn submitted that a fine of $500 was “extreme”. FLY LIKE AN EAGLE had struck his horse’s wheel just once. He sought a fine of “much lower than $500”. The Committee put it to Mr Dunn that it was a Group 3 race for a stake of $25,000 and that punters had missed out as a result of his actions. Mr Dunn submitted that it was not a large stake and added that he could have a bad drive on a beaten hot favourite but would not get fined for doing so. Punters accept that things happen in races, Mr Dunn stated.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the starting point of $500 recommended in the Penalty Guide for careless driving “causing a relegation”. The Committee accepted Mr McIntyre’s submission that Mr Dunn’s causing his horse to be eliminated from the race, as was the case, was equivalent to causing it to be relegated for interference. The circumstances of this breach put it at least in the mid to high range. These were aggravating factors, as were the status of the race and the stake payable and the consequential effects referred to.
A mitigating factor taken into account by the Committee was Mr Dunn’s very good record.
Weighing all of the above factors, the Committee decided that a fine of $500 was appropriate.
penalty:
Mr Dunn was fined the sum of $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: N G McIntyre, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: D J Dunn, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 6a2a7f53e903cf23a22e65fc898ec878
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
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meetid: c439714c08680aa50b0ce49f66070739
meet_expapproval:
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meet_emailed1: 0
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meetdate: 22/03/2013
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 22 March 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: JPhelan
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name: NZ Metro TC