Waikouaiti HRC 8 February 2015 – R 1
ID: JCA14416
Meet Title:
Waikouaiti HRC - 8 February 2015
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
DJackson
Race Date:
2015/02/08
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
We find the charge proved.
Penalty:
Taking a starting point of $400 and having regard to the circumstances of the breach and Mr Ferguson’s record we believe a fine of $200 is appropriate. Mr Ferguson is reminded of is obligations under the Rules of Harness Racing.
Facts:
Mr Allison alleged that Mr Ferguson, the driver of THE EDGE OF REASON, drove carelessly in race 1 the STRATH TAIERI RUGBY CLUB PACE in that he shifted ground outwards when insufficiently clear of BILLY KLONDIKE (Mr Williamson) resulting in BILLY KLONDIKE striking the sulky of LADY VC.
Mr Ferguson denied the charge and was assisted at the hearing by Mr B Orange.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Allison demonstrated on the videos that a little after halfway down the home straight the respondent was racing towards the rear of the field when he shifted outwards looking for a run. In so doing he squeezed BILLY KLONDIKE (Mr Williamson), which was racing to the outside of Mr Ferguson and to the inside of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE was forced to move outwards and came into contact with the sulky wheel of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE broke and galloped out of the race.
Mr Williamson gave evidence that in the home straight there was movement from his inside and he had to check his horse as he was running out of racing room. He came into contact with the cart of LADY VC and his horse galloped as a consequence. In response to questioning, Mr Williamson said he yelled out for room just before BILLY KLONDIKE galloped and he did not believe the driver of LADY VC, Mr Norman, had shifted down on the track. He said he checked his horse before there was contact because he could see he was going to run out of room.
Mr Orange said the incident was caused by the racing manners of BILLY KLONDIKE, which had thrown its head up when checked by Mr Williamson. The horse had over-reacted to being checked and, in so doing, the horse came into contact with LADY VC. He stated that Mr Norman was shifting in, in addition to Mr Ferguson shifting out. He emphasised that Mr Ferguson had come out gently and that BILLY KLONDIKE was “going nowhere” when the gap closed.
Mr Ferguson said he was racing side by side with Mr Williamson and he believed he was entitled to come out in a gentle and safe manner, which was what he believed he had done on this occasion. He did not hear Mr Williamson yelling. He believed Mr Norman was leaning on top of Mr Williamson at the time of contact.
Reasons for Decision:
We are satisfied that when Mr Ferguson first started to shift wider on the track he was doing so in a measured fashion and with safety. At this time Mr Williamson was in a position to be able to shift wider on the track to accommodate Mr Ferguson’s outwards movement. However, Mr Ferguson shifted out a second time and at this time Mr Norman was racing hard up outside Mr Williamson and there was simply nowhere for Mr Williamson to go and as a consequence he checked BILLY KLONDIKE. We accept that the horse has over-reacted to its being restrained, its head comes up and he comes into contact with the cart of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE then gallops and loses all chance.
Mr Williamson’s evidence is clear. The movement was from his inside, and the videos demonstrate that that movement emanated from THE EDGE OF REASON. Significantly, Mr Williamson has had to take hold of BILLY KLONDIKE because of the outwards movement from Mr Ferguson. Whilst it was not a sudden movement, it was not done with safety as Mr Norman was racing outside and alongside Mr Williamson, and BILLY KLONDIKE simply ran out of racing room.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Allison said the respondent had a very good record. He was a leading junior driver and his previous charge of careless driving was almost 12 months ago. Mr Ferguson had had 245 drives last season and has had 178 this season. He submitted there were mitigating circumstances surrounding the actual breach itself, as the judicial committee had noted, and that a penalty at the lower end of the range was appropriate.
Mr Ferguson said his record was very good and the fine should be as low as possible.
Reasons for Penalty:
The breach is at the bottom end of the scale. The racing manners of BILLY KLONDIKE contributed to that horse striking the sulky of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE was never going to run into a dividend bearing position. That said, there was insufficient racing room for BILLY KLONDIKE once Mr Ferguson persisted in moving Mr Williamson sideways on the track when Mr Norman was racing outside BILLY KLONDIKE.
Mr Ferguson’s record is very good. He is a busy junior driver and he has gone close to 12 months without a breach of the careless driving rule. He is to be rewarded for that.
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: 80c39f3ec4166e29a453e9b5c4872b94
informantnumber: A1409
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/02/2015
hearing_title: Waikouaiti HRC 8 February 2015 - R 1
charge:
facts:
Mr Allison alleged that Mr Ferguson, the driver of THE EDGE OF REASON, drove carelessly in race 1 the STRATH TAIERI RUGBY CLUB PACE in that he shifted ground outwards when insufficiently clear of BILLY KLONDIKE (Mr Williamson) resulting in BILLY KLONDIKE striking the sulky of LADY VC.
Mr Ferguson denied the charge and was assisted at the hearing by Mr B Orange.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Allison demonstrated on the videos that a little after halfway down the home straight the respondent was racing towards the rear of the field when he shifted outwards looking for a run. In so doing he squeezed BILLY KLONDIKE (Mr Williamson), which was racing to the outside of Mr Ferguson and to the inside of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE was forced to move outwards and came into contact with the sulky wheel of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE broke and galloped out of the race.
Mr Williamson gave evidence that in the home straight there was movement from his inside and he had to check his horse as he was running out of racing room. He came into contact with the cart of LADY VC and his horse galloped as a consequence. In response to questioning, Mr Williamson said he yelled out for room just before BILLY KLONDIKE galloped and he did not believe the driver of LADY VC, Mr Norman, had shifted down on the track. He said he checked his horse before there was contact because he could see he was going to run out of room.
Mr Orange said the incident was caused by the racing manners of BILLY KLONDIKE, which had thrown its head up when checked by Mr Williamson. The horse had over-reacted to being checked and, in so doing, the horse came into contact with LADY VC. He stated that Mr Norman was shifting in, in addition to Mr Ferguson shifting out. He emphasised that Mr Ferguson had come out gently and that BILLY KLONDIKE was “going nowhere” when the gap closed.
Mr Ferguson said he was racing side by side with Mr Williamson and he believed he was entitled to come out in a gentle and safe manner, which was what he believed he had done on this occasion. He did not hear Mr Williamson yelling. He believed Mr Norman was leaning on top of Mr Williamson at the time of contact.
reasonsfordecision:
We are satisfied that when Mr Ferguson first started to shift wider on the track he was doing so in a measured fashion and with safety. At this time Mr Williamson was in a position to be able to shift wider on the track to accommodate Mr Ferguson’s outwards movement. However, Mr Ferguson shifted out a second time and at this time Mr Norman was racing hard up outside Mr Williamson and there was simply nowhere for Mr Williamson to go and as a consequence he checked BILLY KLONDIKE. We accept that the horse has over-reacted to its being restrained, its head comes up and he comes into contact with the cart of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE then gallops and loses all chance.
Mr Williamson’s evidence is clear. The movement was from his inside, and the videos demonstrate that that movement emanated from THE EDGE OF REASON. Significantly, Mr Williamson has had to take hold of BILLY KLONDIKE because of the outwards movement from Mr Ferguson. Whilst it was not a sudden movement, it was not done with safety as Mr Norman was racing outside and alongside Mr Williamson, and BILLY KLONDIKE simply ran out of racing room.
Decision:
We find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Allison said the respondent had a very good record. He was a leading junior driver and his previous charge of careless driving was almost 12 months ago. Mr Ferguson had had 245 drives last season and has had 178 this season. He submitted there were mitigating circumstances surrounding the actual breach itself, as the judicial committee had noted, and that a penalty at the lower end of the range was appropriate.
Mr Ferguson said his record was very good and the fine should be as low as possible.
reasonsforpenalty:
The breach is at the bottom end of the scale. The racing manners of BILLY KLONDIKE contributed to that horse striking the sulky of LADY VC. BILLY KLONDIKE was never going to run into a dividend bearing position. That said, there was insufficient racing room for BILLY KLONDIKE once Mr Ferguson persisted in moving Mr Williamson sideways on the track when Mr Norman was racing outside BILLY KLONDIKE.
Mr Ferguson’s record is very good. He is a busy junior driver and he has gone close to 12 months without a breach of the careless driving rule. He is to be rewarded for that.
penalty:
Taking a starting point of $400 and having regard to the circumstances of the breach and Mr Ferguson’s record we believe a fine of $200 is appropriate. Mr Ferguson is reminded of is obligations under the Rules of Harness Racing.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr C Allison - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Ferguson - Junior Horseman
Otherperson: Mr B Orange - Open Horseman assisting Mr Ferguson, Mr M Williamson - Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: f3e586f9cfca6802136e3711ba2e8789
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race_emailed1: 0
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race_title: R 1
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meetdate: 08/02/2015
meet_title: Waikouaiti HRC - 8 February 2015
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meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
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name: Waikouaiti HRC