Forbury Park TC 8 December 2017 – R 5 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA14578
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 8 December 2017
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2017/12/08
Race Number:
R 5
Decision:
As Mr McIlwrick has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr McIlwrick is fined the sum of $225 and is reminded of his professional obligations.
Facts:
Following the running of race 5, the Roofing Solutions Trot, Mr Renault lodged an information alleging Mr McIlwrick failed to immediately take HIGHLAND STAR clear of the field when in a break near the 400 metres.
The relevant rules are:
870(1) When any horse breaks from its gait in any race its horseman shall immediately take all reasonable steps to return it to its proper gait and where clearance exists immediately take such horse clear of the field.
(2) The following shall be a breach of sub-rule (1) hereof:
(a) failure to take the horse clear of the field….
Mr Renault demonstrated on the videos that with some 500 metres to race, when leading the field, HIGHLAND STAR broke and galloped. The respondent tried to return the horse to its proper gait and in so doing he held his position for some 130 metres before finally shifting his horse wider on the track. Mr Renault alleged Mr McIlwrick held his position in case HIGHLAND STAR returned to its correct gait. Ms Purvis, who was driving the trailing horse, was inconvenienced briefly.
Mr McIlwrick said the horse is “rough” and can switch between its gait and come back. He hoped it would on this occasion. He accepted he had waited too long before shifting wider. He said he had been too slow to react. He knew he had to get out of the way and had made an error.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault produced Mr McIlwrick’s record, which was clear under this rule. He is a busy driver with 87 drives this season and 387 the season before. Mr Renault identified the lengthy distance galloped before HIGHLAND STAR was taken clear of the field and another horse being hampered as aggravating factors.
Mr McIlwrick described himself as a battling driver who had to take work outside the industry to make ends meet. He asked that the penalty be a fine and that it be as little as possible in the circumstances.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Renault is correct when he says the considerable distance that HIGHLAND STAR galloped before the horse was taken clear of the field and that another horse was hampered are aggravating factors. Clearly the respondent was hoping his horse would return to a trot and that he would not have lost too much ground. His primary obligation, of course, is to drive in accordance with the Rules.
The starting point in the Penalty Guide is 8 drives or a $400 fine. There is no uplift. We give credit to the respondent for his admission of the breach and his very good record. We also have regard to his limited means.
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: 95091ec1ae7384678d3219a765fe43c7
informantnumber: A9874
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to immediately take HIGHLAND STAR clear of the field when in a break near the 400 metres
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/12/2017
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 8 December 2017 - R 5 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 5, the Roofing Solutions Trot, Mr Renault lodged an information alleging Mr McIlwrick failed to immediately take HIGHLAND STAR clear of the field when in a break near the 400 metres.
The relevant rules are:
870(1) When any horse breaks from its gait in any race its horseman shall immediately take all reasonable steps to return it to its proper gait and where clearance exists immediately take such horse clear of the field.
(2) The following shall be a breach of sub-rule (1) hereof:
(a) failure to take the horse clear of the field….
Mr Renault demonstrated on the videos that with some 500 metres to race, when leading the field, HIGHLAND STAR broke and galloped. The respondent tried to return the horse to its proper gait and in so doing he held his position for some 130 metres before finally shifting his horse wider on the track. Mr Renault alleged Mr McIlwrick held his position in case HIGHLAND STAR returned to its correct gait. Ms Purvis, who was driving the trailing horse, was inconvenienced briefly.
Mr McIlwrick said the horse is “rough” and can switch between its gait and come back. He hoped it would on this occasion. He accepted he had waited too long before shifting wider. He said he had been too slow to react. He knew he had to get out of the way and had made an error.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr McIlwrick has admitted the breach, it is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault produced Mr McIlwrick’s record, which was clear under this rule. He is a busy driver with 87 drives this season and 387 the season before. Mr Renault identified the lengthy distance galloped before HIGHLAND STAR was taken clear of the field and another horse being hampered as aggravating factors.
Mr McIlwrick described himself as a battling driver who had to take work outside the industry to make ends meet. He asked that the penalty be a fine and that it be as little as possible in the circumstances.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Renault is correct when he says the considerable distance that HIGHLAND STAR galloped before the horse was taken clear of the field and that another horse was hampered are aggravating factors. Clearly the respondent was hoping his horse would return to a trot and that he would not have lost too much ground. His primary obligation, of course, is to drive in accordance with the Rules.
The starting point in the Penalty Guide is 8 drives or a $400 fine. There is no uplift. We give credit to the respondent for his admission of the breach and his very good record. We also have regard to his limited means.
penalty:
Mr McIlwrick is fined the sum of $225 and is reminded of his professional obligations.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 870(1) and (2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R McIlwrick - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: fdb94865d20bcc90e5e14d7f07411461
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 5
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 1c0f0bf24137cf62c594c6cb85b152e8
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 08/12/2017
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 8 December 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC