HR Waikato 11 February 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA15004
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 11 February 2016
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2016/02/11
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Ms Furness has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee therefore suspends Ms Furness' license to drive in races from the end of this evenings racing until after the conclusion of racing at Cambridge on 21 July 2016.
Facts:
Following the running of race 1, the MERIDIAN ENERGY AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE, an Information was laid by Mr Muirhead alleging that Amateur Horsewoman Ms S Furness 'drove recklessly entering the first bend which resulted in WAIPIPI FALCON breaking with resultant interference to A CHANCE TO DREAM (J Darby) which broke losing ground, and IMAJOLLYWALLY (Mrs S Yoakley) which was checked.
The Rule was read to Ms Furness, who acknowledged that she had noted on the Information that she admitted the breach. It was explained to Ms Furness that this was a relatively serious charge, and that she had the opportunity to have it heard at a later time if she wished to seek some advice. She declined to have the matter adjourned. Since Ms Furness is an inexperienced horsewoman she was also given the opportunity to have a senior driver assist her in the hearing, which she also declined.
Rule 869(3)9c) states " No horseman in any race shall drive recklessly'.
This race was a mobile start over 2200 metres. The starting point is in the home straight and the horses have a relatively short run to the first bend out of the straight.
Mr Muirhead outlined that A CHANCE TO DREAM started from barrier 1, WAIPIPI FALCON from 2, and WAR HORSE from 3.
As the start point was reached, Mr Muirhead demonstrated on the films that WAR HORSE accelerated and obtained clear advantage in the lead. Mr Muirhead stated that it was clear that his driver, Mr Thorby, was intent on leading. Mr Muirhead said that WAIPIPI FALCON, which was one of the outsiders in the betting, was driven forward by Ms Furness in an attempt to obtain the trail behind WAR HORSE. However WAIPIPI FALCON did not manage to clear A CHANCE TO DREAM on its inside in spite of Ms Furness driving with vigour with the reins. It was clear on the films that Ms Furness struck WAIPIPI FALCON twice with her whip. The horse then threw its head up, veered inwards and went off stride causing severe interference to A CHANCE TO DREAM which reacted violently by rearing and going off stride. In doing so A CHANCE TO DREAM dropped back onto IMAJOLLYWALLY behind it, causing that horse to be checked and lose ground.
Mr Muirhead stated that Ms Furness had shown no regard for other drivers around her and the incident displayed that she had a lack of control of her horse's head and mouth. He said that the manner in which she drove was reckless, and that at the best it was a very poor drive. Mr Muirhead added that the raceday Stewards strongly believed that Ms Furness' actions were definitely at the upper level on the scale of seriousness and that they had considered a more serious charge than 'reckless' driving.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Muirhead confirmed that there had been no contact made by any other horse to cause WAIPIPI FALCON to react the way it did.
Ms Furness told the Committee that she had planned to take a trailing position in the race. She agreed that WAIPIPI FALCON had reacted when struck with the whip, raising his head and going 'up in the air' when she then tried to take a hold of it. Ms Furness said that she valued safety and had not intentionally driven recklessly. Ms Furness added that she felt 'bad' that Mr Darby (A CHANCE TO DREAM) had been taken out of the race. When questioned by the Committee she stated that she had driven the horse in work-outs but not in a race.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead told the Committee that Ms Furness had driven 3 times in races prior to this race. While not a factor for the Committee to consider, he added that she had been warned by the Stewards after one of these drives for showing a lack of control of her horse. He said that if a professional race driver had driven in the manner she had, the Stewards would submit a penalty of 30 drives would be appropriate. Mr Muirhead submitted that the Stewards believed that Ms Furness' driving license should be suspended until end of the current season after this breach. He added that amateurs were usually afforded the opportunity to drive in 2 races a month in the Auckland/Waikato region, and that while it was in her favour that she had admitted the breach, the Stewards were most concerned about the standard of her race driving.
Ms Furness said that she had no drives in the upcoming 7 days.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee took careful notice of the submissions made in respect of an appropriate penalty.
The JCA Penalty Guide usually provides a starting point, however relative to this Rule there is no such guideline.
We took into account Ms Furness' admission of the breach, and her inexperience in driving in races.
However, balancing that, this breach was at the upper level on the scale of seriousness and it was as a result of Ms Furness' driving that the Stipendiary Stewards considered the charge should be one of 'reckless' driving as opposed to 'careless' driving.
The effect of Ms Furness' driving was that 2 horses were interfered with, and it was fortunate that A CHANCE TO DREAM did not fall as a serious incident could have occurred since that horse was near the front of the field.
It can be difficult for raceday Committees to calculate appropriate suspensions of driving licenses when Amateur drivers are involved. Clearly not all race meetings provide races for Amateurs to drive in.
It should be noted that there have been no charges preferred against any driver under this Rule since 1 January 2014. The Committee looked at other penalties imposed for charges preferred under the general provisions of Rule 869 (relating to the manner of driving in races) in order to arrive at an appropriate penalty for this particular breach.
This Committee initially considered imposing a more severe penalty than had been proposed by Mr Muirhead. However taking into account that this was only Ms Furness' 4th raceday drive we believed that a slight concession could be made.
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: 9875914f3711d95131b4f934a9e4fae2
informantnumber: A3696
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Driving Recklessly
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/02/2016
hearing_title: HR Waikato 11 February 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 1, the MERIDIAN ENERGY AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE, an Information was laid by Mr Muirhead alleging that Amateur Horsewoman Ms S Furness 'drove recklessly entering the first bend which resulted in WAIPIPI FALCON breaking with resultant interference to A CHANCE TO DREAM (J Darby) which broke losing ground, and IMAJOLLYWALLY (Mrs S Yoakley) which was checked.
The Rule was read to Ms Furness, who acknowledged that she had noted on the Information that she admitted the breach. It was explained to Ms Furness that this was a relatively serious charge, and that she had the opportunity to have it heard at a later time if she wished to seek some advice. She declined to have the matter adjourned. Since Ms Furness is an inexperienced horsewoman she was also given the opportunity to have a senior driver assist her in the hearing, which she also declined.
Rule 869(3)9c) states " No horseman in any race shall drive recklessly'.
This race was a mobile start over 2200 metres. The starting point is in the home straight and the horses have a relatively short run to the first bend out of the straight.
Mr Muirhead outlined that A CHANCE TO DREAM started from barrier 1, WAIPIPI FALCON from 2, and WAR HORSE from 3.
As the start point was reached, Mr Muirhead demonstrated on the films that WAR HORSE accelerated and obtained clear advantage in the lead. Mr Muirhead stated that it was clear that his driver, Mr Thorby, was intent on leading. Mr Muirhead said that WAIPIPI FALCON, which was one of the outsiders in the betting, was driven forward by Ms Furness in an attempt to obtain the trail behind WAR HORSE. However WAIPIPI FALCON did not manage to clear A CHANCE TO DREAM on its inside in spite of Ms Furness driving with vigour with the reins. It was clear on the films that Ms Furness struck WAIPIPI FALCON twice with her whip. The horse then threw its head up, veered inwards and went off stride causing severe interference to A CHANCE TO DREAM which reacted violently by rearing and going off stride. In doing so A CHANCE TO DREAM dropped back onto IMAJOLLYWALLY behind it, causing that horse to be checked and lose ground.
Mr Muirhead stated that Ms Furness had shown no regard for other drivers around her and the incident displayed that she had a lack of control of her horse's head and mouth. He said that the manner in which she drove was reckless, and that at the best it was a very poor drive. Mr Muirhead added that the raceday Stewards strongly believed that Ms Furness' actions were definitely at the upper level on the scale of seriousness and that they had considered a more serious charge than 'reckless' driving.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Muirhead confirmed that there had been no contact made by any other horse to cause WAIPIPI FALCON to react the way it did.
Ms Furness told the Committee that she had planned to take a trailing position in the race. She agreed that WAIPIPI FALCON had reacted when struck with the whip, raising his head and going 'up in the air' when she then tried to take a hold of it. Ms Furness said that she valued safety and had not intentionally driven recklessly. Ms Furness added that she felt 'bad' that Mr Darby (A CHANCE TO DREAM) had been taken out of the race. When questioned by the Committee she stated that she had driven the horse in work-outs but not in a race.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Ms Furness has admitted the breach we find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead told the Committee that Ms Furness had driven 3 times in races prior to this race. While not a factor for the Committee to consider, he added that she had been warned by the Stewards after one of these drives for showing a lack of control of her horse. He said that if a professional race driver had driven in the manner she had, the Stewards would submit a penalty of 30 drives would be appropriate. Mr Muirhead submitted that the Stewards believed that Ms Furness' driving license should be suspended until end of the current season after this breach. He added that amateurs were usually afforded the opportunity to drive in 2 races a month in the Auckland/Waikato region, and that while it was in her favour that she had admitted the breach, the Stewards were most concerned about the standard of her race driving.
Ms Furness said that she had no drives in the upcoming 7 days.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee took careful notice of the submissions made in respect of an appropriate penalty.
The JCA Penalty Guide usually provides a starting point, however relative to this Rule there is no such guideline.
We took into account Ms Furness' admission of the breach, and her inexperience in driving in races.
However, balancing that, this breach was at the upper level on the scale of seriousness and it was as a result of Ms Furness' driving that the Stipendiary Stewards considered the charge should be one of 'reckless' driving as opposed to 'careless' driving.
The effect of Ms Furness' driving was that 2 horses were interfered with, and it was fortunate that A CHANCE TO DREAM did not fall as a serious incident could have occurred since that horse was near the front of the field.
It can be difficult for raceday Committees to calculate appropriate suspensions of driving licenses when Amateur drivers are involved. Clearly not all race meetings provide races for Amateurs to drive in.
It should be noted that there have been no charges preferred against any driver under this Rule since 1 January 2014. The Committee looked at other penalties imposed for charges preferred under the general provisions of Rule 869 (relating to the manner of driving in races) in order to arrive at an appropriate penalty for this particular breach.
This Committee initially considered imposing a more severe penalty than had been proposed by Mr Muirhead. However taking into account that this was only Ms Furness' 4th raceday drive we believed that a slight concession could be made.
penalty:
The Committee therefore suspends Ms Furness' license to drive in races from the end of this evenings racing until after the conclusion of racing at Cambridge on 21 July 2016.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(c)
Informant: Mr J Muirhead (Stipendiary Steward)
JockeysandTrainer: Ms S. Furness, Amateur Horsewoman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ff9b47f0a2d9396733f94ea5dafc9d03
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: f02f277670b6d4ee0e1d732ef10ac12b
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meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 11/02/2016
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 11 February 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato