NZ Metro TC 16 May 2014 – R 3
ID: JCA14876
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 16 May 2014
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2014/05/16
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Walker Davey Limited Pace, an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr K M Barron, alleging that Mr Barron, as the driver of GOING TO CALIFORNIA in the race, “at about the 350 metres shifted his horse GOING TO CALIFORNIA outwards causing tightening to THE FLYING SCOTSMAN (A M Butt), FLUSHING MEADOWS (G J Lee) and TUXEDO MAX (B N Orange) resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking for a considerable distance”.
Mr Barron was present at the hearing of the information, and he indicated that he denied the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the relevant part of the race between the 500 and 200 metres. He pointed out GOING TO CALIFORNIA, driven by Mr Barron trailing 3-back on the markers behind SMOKE N GRIN (J W Cox), which was trailing the leader. That runner was “under sufferance and retreating”, Mr McIntyre submitted. Directly behind Mr Barron was THE FLYING SCOTSMAN (A M Butt) and, to Mr Butt’s outside was FLUSHING MEADOWS (G J Lee), outside of that runner was TUXEDO MAX (B N Orange). Outside of that runner was THAT GUY FINN (T S Chmiel).
Prior to the incident, Mr McIntyre said, Mr Butt had shifted to the outside of Mr Barron and became clearly established in the position one off the markers. Mr Barron’s horse was overracing at the time and Mr Barron attempted to shift outwards, forcing Mr Butt to “shift away” from him. The result was a “domino effect” outwards, resulting in TUXEDO MAX going into a break. Mr McIntyre demonstrated this on video replays. Mr McIntyre submitted that there were five horses racing where there was space for only three.
The Stewards were alleging that Mr Barron was not entitled to come out at that stage. He had been looking to get off the back of the tiring runner, SMOKE N GRIN. However, Mr Butt had got established outside his wheel, Mr McIntyre said.
Mr Barron referred to the video replays. Mr Barron said that there were several factors involved. Firstly, his horse was overracing badly and he got caught on the wheels of the two runners in front. It was better for him to get on the back of another horse rather than hit the wheel and fall, he said. He pointed out that he was leaning out the back of the sulky. Secondly, he submitted, Mr Orange had been going inside for a run which was not available. Mr Chmiel’s horse had been hanging in and there was contact from Mr Chmiel’s horse to Mr Orange’s.
Mr McIntyre, at Mr Barron’s request, referred to evidence given by Mr Orange and Mr Chmiel at the Stewards’ preliminary inquiry. Mr Orange had said that there had been pressure from his outside while Mr Chmiel said that he was only trying to keep off Mr Orange after pressure had come from the inside.
Mr Barron said that his horse had “latched on” and “arched its neck” and gone out onto the wheels of the runners in front. As a consequence, he had to go either in or out to avoid striking a wheel. He pointed out that he was “leaning right back”, with nowhere to go. He opted to go out onto the back of IREBY BETTY (R D Close). He submitted that coming back down was not an option because SMOKE N GRIN was stopping. He submitted that a number of horses and drivers had contributed to the incident and, therefore, there was sufficient doubt.
In response, Mr McIntyre conceded that Mr Barron was in a “tricky position” but submitted he was not entitled to pass his bad luck onto others. Mr Barron needed to come out “with safety”, Mr McIntyre submitted. He said that Mr Orange had been forced to direct his horse out, and the head of Mr Chmiel’s horse “screwed out” when Mr Chmiel attempted to give Mr Orange more room. Mr McIntyre did concede that Mr Barron’s horse had been overracing and had “arched” its head out.
Reasons for Decision:
The information alleged that Mr Barron drove carelessly at about the 350 metres when he shifted his horse, GOING TO CALIFORNIA, outwards causing tightening to THE FLYING SCOTSMAN, FLUSHING MEADOWS and TUXEDO MAX, resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking.
The Committee carefully viewed the incident on video replays from a number of different camera angles and considered the evidence and submissions of the parties.
Mr McIntyre elected not to call any of the other drivers to give evidence. He showed that Mr Butt was established outside the wheel of Mr Barron in the 2-wide line. He alleged that, at that point, Mr Barron attempted to shift outwards forcing Mr Butt to have to shift away, causing a “domino effect” out wider resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking. Mr Barron was not entitled to come out, Mr McIntyre submitted.
Mr Barron in his defence, submitted that his horse had been travelling tractably immediately prior to the incident but said that it had then arched its neck and shifted off the markers to race in a position between the sulky wheels of SMOKE N GRIN and IREBY BETTY. Mr Barron had been trailing SMOKE N GRIN and it was clear that that horse was giving ground.
The Committee found that Mr Barron’s horse had overraced, got its head round and moved out. It could clearly be seen that it was giving Mr Barron a difficult drive at this point. Mr McIntyre conceded this.
It was unfortunate that, just prior to Mr Barron’s horse coming out, Mr Butt driving THE FLYING SCOTSMAN had got up outside its wheel and the outwards movement of Mr Barron’s horse placed pressure on Mr Butt and the runners outside him, resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking. The Committee made no finding as to the contribution THAT GUY FINN made to the breaking of TUXEDO MAX as it had no direct evidence on this point. However, it could not completely disregard the evidence given by Mr Barron as to what Mr Orange had said at the preliminary inquiry.
We find that, after GOING TO CALIFORNIA had come out, Mr Barron was unable to move back down because SMOKE N GRIN was stopping in front of him and he was outside of or alongside the wheel of that runner. The Committee found that Mr Barron’s decision to come out fully onto the back of IREBY BETTY, in those circumstances, was a reasonable one.
The Committee further found that the interference to TUXEDO MAX was caused in the first instance by GOING TO CALIFORNIA arching its neck and coming out in response to the runner in front, SMOKE N GRIN, coming back. In the Committee’s view, Mr Barron was in no way responsible for the horse’s initial outwards shift – his actions were those of a reasonable and prudent driver. We were satisfied that he did all that could have been expected of him in the circumstances.
The Committee was not satisfied that Mr Barron had driven carelessly.
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: 86ffe27225aa36c71df0958e1e765886
informantnumber: A1587
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 16/05/2014
hearing_title: NZ Metro TC 16 May 2014 - R 3
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Walker Davey Limited Pace, an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr N G McIntyre, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr K M Barron, alleging that Mr Barron, as the driver of GOING TO CALIFORNIA in the race, “at about the 350 metres shifted his horse GOING TO CALIFORNIA outwards causing tightening to THE FLYING SCOTSMAN (A M Butt), FLUSHING MEADOWS (G J Lee) and TUXEDO MAX (B N Orange) resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking for a considerable distance”.
Mr Barron was present at the hearing of the information, and he indicated that he denied the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McIntyre showed video replays of the relevant part of the race between the 500 and 200 metres. He pointed out GOING TO CALIFORNIA, driven by Mr Barron trailing 3-back on the markers behind SMOKE N GRIN (J W Cox), which was trailing the leader. That runner was “under sufferance and retreating”, Mr McIntyre submitted. Directly behind Mr Barron was THE FLYING SCOTSMAN (A M Butt) and, to Mr Butt’s outside was FLUSHING MEADOWS (G J Lee), outside of that runner was TUXEDO MAX (B N Orange). Outside of that runner was THAT GUY FINN (T S Chmiel).
Prior to the incident, Mr McIntyre said, Mr Butt had shifted to the outside of Mr Barron and became clearly established in the position one off the markers. Mr Barron’s horse was overracing at the time and Mr Barron attempted to shift outwards, forcing Mr Butt to “shift away” from him. The result was a “domino effect” outwards, resulting in TUXEDO MAX going into a break. Mr McIntyre demonstrated this on video replays. Mr McIntyre submitted that there were five horses racing where there was space for only three.
The Stewards were alleging that Mr Barron was not entitled to come out at that stage. He had been looking to get off the back of the tiring runner, SMOKE N GRIN. However, Mr Butt had got established outside his wheel, Mr McIntyre said.
Mr Barron referred to the video replays. Mr Barron said that there were several factors involved. Firstly, his horse was overracing badly and he got caught on the wheels of the two runners in front. It was better for him to get on the back of another horse rather than hit the wheel and fall, he said. He pointed out that he was leaning out the back of the sulky. Secondly, he submitted, Mr Orange had been going inside for a run which was not available. Mr Chmiel’s horse had been hanging in and there was contact from Mr Chmiel’s horse to Mr Orange’s.
Mr McIntyre, at Mr Barron’s request, referred to evidence given by Mr Orange and Mr Chmiel at the Stewards’ preliminary inquiry. Mr Orange had said that there had been pressure from his outside while Mr Chmiel said that he was only trying to keep off Mr Orange after pressure had come from the inside.
Mr Barron said that his horse had “latched on” and “arched its neck” and gone out onto the wheels of the runners in front. As a consequence, he had to go either in or out to avoid striking a wheel. He pointed out that he was “leaning right back”, with nowhere to go. He opted to go out onto the back of IREBY BETTY (R D Close). He submitted that coming back down was not an option because SMOKE N GRIN was stopping. He submitted that a number of horses and drivers had contributed to the incident and, therefore, there was sufficient doubt.
In response, Mr McIntyre conceded that Mr Barron was in a “tricky position” but submitted he was not entitled to pass his bad luck onto others. Mr Barron needed to come out “with safety”, Mr McIntyre submitted. He said that Mr Orange had been forced to direct his horse out, and the head of Mr Chmiel’s horse “screwed out” when Mr Chmiel attempted to give Mr Orange more room. Mr McIntyre did concede that Mr Barron’s horse had been overracing and had “arched” its head out.
reasonsfordecision:
The information alleged that Mr Barron drove carelessly at about the 350 metres when he shifted his horse, GOING TO CALIFORNIA, outwards causing tightening to THE FLYING SCOTSMAN, FLUSHING MEADOWS and TUXEDO MAX, resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking.
The Committee carefully viewed the incident on video replays from a number of different camera angles and considered the evidence and submissions of the parties.
Mr McIntyre elected not to call any of the other drivers to give evidence. He showed that Mr Butt was established outside the wheel of Mr Barron in the 2-wide line. He alleged that, at that point, Mr Barron attempted to shift outwards forcing Mr Butt to have to shift away, causing a “domino effect” out wider resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking. Mr Barron was not entitled to come out, Mr McIntyre submitted.
Mr Barron in his defence, submitted that his horse had been travelling tractably immediately prior to the incident but said that it had then arched its neck and shifted off the markers to race in a position between the sulky wheels of SMOKE N GRIN and IREBY BETTY. Mr Barron had been trailing SMOKE N GRIN and it was clear that that horse was giving ground.
The Committee found that Mr Barron’s horse had overraced, got its head round and moved out. It could clearly be seen that it was giving Mr Barron a difficult drive at this point. Mr McIntyre conceded this.
It was unfortunate that, just prior to Mr Barron’s horse coming out, Mr Butt driving THE FLYING SCOTSMAN had got up outside its wheel and the outwards movement of Mr Barron’s horse placed pressure on Mr Butt and the runners outside him, resulting in TUXEDO MAX breaking. The Committee made no finding as to the contribution THAT GUY FINN made to the breaking of TUXEDO MAX as it had no direct evidence on this point. However, it could not completely disregard the evidence given by Mr Barron as to what Mr Orange had said at the preliminary inquiry.
We find that, after GOING TO CALIFORNIA had come out, Mr Barron was unable to move back down because SMOKE N GRIN was stopping in front of him and he was outside of or alongside the wheel of that runner. The Committee found that Mr Barron’s decision to come out fully onto the back of IREBY BETTY, in those circumstances, was a reasonable one.
The Committee further found that the interference to TUXEDO MAX was caused in the first instance by GOING TO CALIFORNIA arching its neck and coming out in response to the runner in front, SMOKE N GRIN, coming back. In the Committee’s view, Mr Barron was in no way responsible for the horse’s initial outwards shift – his actions were those of a reasonable and prudent driver. We were satisfied that he did all that could have been expected of him in the circumstances.
The Committee was not satisfied that Mr Barron had driven carelessly.
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: N G McIntyre, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: K M Barron, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: cec310b489b023732498234a26cc9cbd
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: cd76a8bf80489eab1c48e1a84e9eab1b
meet_expapproval:
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waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 16/05/2014
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 16 May 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC