HR Waikato 18 December 2014 – R 1
ID: JCA14506
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 18 December 2014
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2014/12/18
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
The Committee finds that the foreleg of MISS LARA made contact with LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel as the horses passed the finish post the first time. This caused MISS LARA to go off-stride which caused a number of horses behind it to have to take evasive action. Thus Mr Darby, driving MISS LARA had failed to exercise the required standard of care in the circumstances.
The Committee therefore finds the charge proved.
In finding that the charge is proved, the Committee were also aware that there were mitigating circumstances which we would take into account when assessing a penalty.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $150 on Mr Darby.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the DUNSTAN NUTRITION AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay, alleging that Amateur Driver Mr J Darby had breached Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove MISS LARA carelessly making contact with the sulky of LISA'S LAWYER causing his own horse to gallop approaching the first bend.
Mr Darby was present at the hearing and advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides that " No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly'.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Mulcay opened his evidence by identifying the horses MISS LARA driven by Mr Darby, LISA'S LAWYER driven by Mr Kriechbaumer, and CELTIC WARRIOR driven by Mr T Thorby.
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that MISS LARA, which had started from barrier 2 had made a good start and showed some gate speed from the mobile. He said it appeared that as the field approached the first turn out of the home straight Mr Darby was intending to take a trail behind LISA'S LAWYER which was leading. Mr Mulcay said he had been positioned in a viewing platform above the finish line and as the horses passed him he heard and saw contact between LISA'S LAWYER and MISS LARA. He pointed out on the films that there had been contact which had caused MISS LARA to go off stride, and attributed this to Mr Darby coming in on LISA'S LAWYER and his horse's foreleg making contact with LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel. He said that as a result of MISS LARA going off-stride a number of horses behind it had to take evasive action.
Mr Mulcay called Amateur Driver Mr J Kriechbaumer as a witness. Mr Kriechbaumer told the Committee that he drove LISA'S LAWYER in this race. He said he had started from barrier position 1 and had been holding his line in the lead as the field neared the finish post the first time. He said that he felt a brush or knock on his sulky but he did not see which horse had been responsible.
Mr Darby had no questions of Mr Kriechbaumer.
Mr Darby told the Committee the horse MISS LARA had previously been wearing a 'Murphy Blind' in her racing but her connections decided not to use it that night as she had become more tractible. This was his first race-day drive on the horse although he had driven her in training. Mr Mulcay added that a 'Murphy Blind' is not a notifiable piece of gear and connections can use it as they choose. This gear aids a horse which may be affected by horses around it during racing.
Mr Darby said that there had been outer movement from LISA'S LAWYER which was inside him. He said his horse had been racing generously with ample room which was then drastically reduced. He added that his horse was a nervous type and tended to be more aware of other horses around it than other horses. Mr Darby contended there had also been movement inwards from the horse CELTIC WARRIOR outside him which resulted in 'slight' contact. Mr Darby disputed that his actions were 'careless' as in his opinion the gap between his horse and LISA'S LAWYER had closed as that horse had shifted ground prematurely. As a result there had been slight contact which caused his horse to go off-stride. He said he considered he was a careful driver and had not previously faced any charge involving his driving.
In summary Mr Mulcay stated that MISS LARA had been shifting down towards the running line because Mr Darby steered it there. He said there was no basis to Mr Darby's claim that CELTIC WARRIOR had pressured it from its outer.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee carefully considered all of the submissions. We analysed the available films a number of times. We found that while there was outwards movement from LISA'S LAWYER towards MISS LARA, Mr Darby had time to take evasive action. It was apparent from the films that MISS LARA had gone off-stride after LISA'S LAWYER had moved out towards it, however we do not believe that MISS LARA struck LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel as a result of that movement. This took place very shortly after. We further found that Mr Darby should have taken evasive action when it became apparent that LISA'S LAWYER was shifting out slightly, when he had the opportunity to do so.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Darby had an excellent driving record with no prior breaches of this Rule. He said that Rule 869(4), which refers to a horse hitting another horse's wheel covered this scenario. The JCA Penalty Guide showed a starting point of a $200 fine or a suspension from driving for 4 drives. The Stewards submitted that a fine of $200 would be appropriate in this instance.
Mr Darby said that he stood by his good record. He added that there were mitigating circumstances and that the incident was not as straightforward as it looked. He said he hoped the Committee would take this into account when assessing a fine.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide starting point when a horse strikes another horse's wheel is a fine of $200 or a 4 drive suspension.
Mr Darby has an excellent record and we are aware that he has driven in races outside New Zealand. While his horse went off-stride and galloped as a result of striking a wheel, no other horse suffered any real consequences. We accept there had been outwards movement from LISA'S LAWYER which was a contributing factor to this incident. Mr Darby had been placed in tight quarters, however it was incumbent on him to extricate himself out of that situation which he failed to do, causing his horse to gallop.
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: 8b2ee318d90870de67fac116dd5eb3d0
informantnumber: A3658
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 13/12/2014
hearing_title: HR Waikato 18 December 2014 - R 1
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the DUNSTAN NUTRITION AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay, alleging that Amateur Driver Mr J Darby had breached Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove MISS LARA carelessly making contact with the sulky of LISA'S LAWYER causing his own horse to gallop approaching the first bend.
Mr Darby was present at the hearing and advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides that " No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly'.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Mulcay opened his evidence by identifying the horses MISS LARA driven by Mr Darby, LISA'S LAWYER driven by Mr Kriechbaumer, and CELTIC WARRIOR driven by Mr T Thorby.
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that MISS LARA, which had started from barrier 2 had made a good start and showed some gate speed from the mobile. He said it appeared that as the field approached the first turn out of the home straight Mr Darby was intending to take a trail behind LISA'S LAWYER which was leading. Mr Mulcay said he had been positioned in a viewing platform above the finish line and as the horses passed him he heard and saw contact between LISA'S LAWYER and MISS LARA. He pointed out on the films that there had been contact which had caused MISS LARA to go off stride, and attributed this to Mr Darby coming in on LISA'S LAWYER and his horse's foreleg making contact with LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel. He said that as a result of MISS LARA going off-stride a number of horses behind it had to take evasive action.
Mr Mulcay called Amateur Driver Mr J Kriechbaumer as a witness. Mr Kriechbaumer told the Committee that he drove LISA'S LAWYER in this race. He said he had started from barrier position 1 and had been holding his line in the lead as the field neared the finish post the first time. He said that he felt a brush or knock on his sulky but he did not see which horse had been responsible.
Mr Darby had no questions of Mr Kriechbaumer.
Mr Darby told the Committee the horse MISS LARA had previously been wearing a 'Murphy Blind' in her racing but her connections decided not to use it that night as she had become more tractible. This was his first race-day drive on the horse although he had driven her in training. Mr Mulcay added that a 'Murphy Blind' is not a notifiable piece of gear and connections can use it as they choose. This gear aids a horse which may be affected by horses around it during racing.
Mr Darby said that there had been outer movement from LISA'S LAWYER which was inside him. He said his horse had been racing generously with ample room which was then drastically reduced. He added that his horse was a nervous type and tended to be more aware of other horses around it than other horses. Mr Darby contended there had also been movement inwards from the horse CELTIC WARRIOR outside him which resulted in 'slight' contact. Mr Darby disputed that his actions were 'careless' as in his opinion the gap between his horse and LISA'S LAWYER had closed as that horse had shifted ground prematurely. As a result there had been slight contact which caused his horse to go off-stride. He said he considered he was a careful driver and had not previously faced any charge involving his driving.
In summary Mr Mulcay stated that MISS LARA had been shifting down towards the running line because Mr Darby steered it there. He said there was no basis to Mr Darby's claim that CELTIC WARRIOR had pressured it from its outer.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee carefully considered all of the submissions. We analysed the available films a number of times. We found that while there was outwards movement from LISA'S LAWYER towards MISS LARA, Mr Darby had time to take evasive action. It was apparent from the films that MISS LARA had gone off-stride after LISA'S LAWYER had moved out towards it, however we do not believe that MISS LARA struck LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel as a result of that movement. This took place very shortly after. We further found that Mr Darby should have taken evasive action when it became apparent that LISA'S LAWYER was shifting out slightly, when he had the opportunity to do so.
Decision:
The Committee finds that the foreleg of MISS LARA made contact with LISA'S LAWYER'S sulky wheel as the horses passed the finish post the first time. This caused MISS LARA to go off-stride which caused a number of horses behind it to have to take evasive action. Thus Mr Darby, driving MISS LARA had failed to exercise the required standard of care in the circumstances.
The Committee therefore finds the charge proved.
In finding that the charge is proved, the Committee were also aware that there were mitigating circumstances which we would take into account when assessing a penalty.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay told the Committee that Mr Darby had an excellent driving record with no prior breaches of this Rule. He said that Rule 869(4), which refers to a horse hitting another horse's wheel covered this scenario. The JCA Penalty Guide showed a starting point of a $200 fine or a suspension from driving for 4 drives. The Stewards submitted that a fine of $200 would be appropriate in this instance.
Mr Darby said that he stood by his good record. He added that there were mitigating circumstances and that the incident was not as straightforward as it looked. He said he hoped the Committee would take this into account when assessing a fine.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide starting point when a horse strikes another horse's wheel is a fine of $200 or a 4 drive suspension.
Mr Darby has an excellent record and we are aware that he has driven in races outside New Zealand. While his horse went off-stride and galloped as a result of striking a wheel, no other horse suffered any real consequences. We accept there had been outwards movement from LISA'S LAWYER which was a contributing factor to this incident. Mr Darby had been placed in tight quarters, however it was incumbent on him to extricate himself out of that situation which he failed to do, causing his horse to gallop.
penalty:
The Committee therefore imposes a fine of $150 on Mr Darby.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Darby, Amateur Horseman, driver of MISS LARA
Otherperson: Mr J Kriechbaumer, Amateur Horseman, driver of LISA'S LAWYER
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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race_title: R 1
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meetdate: 18/12/2014
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 18 December 2014
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