R Te Aroha 3 September 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA15114
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Racing Te Aroha - 3 September 2017
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
ASmith
Race Date:
2017/09/03
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
As Mr Higgins admitted the breach, the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Mr Higgins was fined $450.
In conclusion the Committee advised Mr Higgins the starting points for a 2nd and 3rd breach of this Rule.
Facts:
Following the running of race 6, Te Aroha Tractors & Tyres Max 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Jones, alleged excessive use of the whip by Mr Higgins on SUMMER WARRIOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Higgins acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Higgins confirmed that he was aware of the new Rule.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” effective 1 August 2017 provides:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Higgins and showed that Mr Higgins struck his mount 12 times prior to the 100m. He said the whip use was continuous, without respite and looked severe due to Mr Higgins' “English whip style”. Mr Coles stated that the whip use was well outside the guidelines.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Coles stated that the severity of the strikes was in the mid-range.
Mr Higgins acknowledged that he struck his mount 12 times and stated he could not defend his actions.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Jones said that Mr Higgins had a clear record in relation to the Rule. He stated that while Mr Higgins did admit the breach it would have been near impossible to defend given the manner of the breach. Mr Jones said the number of strikes being 12 was more than double the allowed “5 on 5 off” and the manner in which Mr Higgins chose to use his whip would have given the perception that he was hitting his horse quite hard. Mr Jones said the Stewards believed given the aggravating factors an uplift from the $300 starting point should apply.
Mr Higgins stated that he had done wrong, and said he would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The starting point for a 1st breach of this new Rule is a $300 fine with the expectation that no reduction in penalty is applied unless the mitigating factors are exceptional.
When reviewing the incident the Committee was very concerned by the manner in which Mr Higgins used his whip on SUMMER WARRIOR. The 12 strikes applied to the horse were forceful and continuous and in our opinion inexcusable. The Committee deemed the breach to be in the mid to high range and these aggravating factors warranted an increase in penalty.
The Committee reminded Mr Higgins that the public perception was paramount especially when dealing with excessive use of the whip.
The mitigating factors were Mr Higgins' clear record under this Rule, from limited rides and his admission of the breach, albeit this was inevitable given the compelling video evidence.
The Committee notes that SUMMER WARRIOR finished in 3rd place and several lengths clear of the 4th placed horse.
The Committee also notes that Mr Higgins is a Jumps / Highweight rider who has had 60 career rides to date.
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: 6af26767496ead41060e9359257bf5b8
informantnumber: A7321
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/09/2017
hearing_title: R Te Aroha 3 September 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 6, Te Aroha Tractors & Tyres Max 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Jones, alleged excessive use of the whip by Mr Higgins on SUMMER WARRIOR prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Higgins acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Higgins confirmed that he was aware of the new Rule.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” effective 1 August 2017 provides:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Higgins and showed that Mr Higgins struck his mount 12 times prior to the 100m. He said the whip use was continuous, without respite and looked severe due to Mr Higgins' “English whip style”. Mr Coles stated that the whip use was well outside the guidelines.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Coles stated that the severity of the strikes was in the mid-range.
Mr Higgins acknowledged that he struck his mount 12 times and stated he could not defend his actions.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Higgins admitted the breach, the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Jones said that Mr Higgins had a clear record in relation to the Rule. He stated that while Mr Higgins did admit the breach it would have been near impossible to defend given the manner of the breach. Mr Jones said the number of strikes being 12 was more than double the allowed “5 on 5 off” and the manner in which Mr Higgins chose to use his whip would have given the perception that he was hitting his horse quite hard. Mr Jones said the Stewards believed given the aggravating factors an uplift from the $300 starting point should apply.
Mr Higgins stated that he had done wrong, and said he would prefer a fine as opposed to a suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The starting point for a 1st breach of this new Rule is a $300 fine with the expectation that no reduction in penalty is applied unless the mitigating factors are exceptional.
When reviewing the incident the Committee was very concerned by the manner in which Mr Higgins used his whip on SUMMER WARRIOR. The 12 strikes applied to the horse were forceful and continuous and in our opinion inexcusable. The Committee deemed the breach to be in the mid to high range and these aggravating factors warranted an increase in penalty.
The Committee reminded Mr Higgins that the public perception was paramount especially when dealing with excessive use of the whip.
The mitigating factors were Mr Higgins' clear record under this Rule, from limited rides and his admission of the breach, albeit this was inevitable given the compelling video evidence.
The Committee notes that SUMMER WARRIOR finished in 3rd place and several lengths clear of the 4th placed horse.
The Committee also notes that Mr Higgins is a Jumps / Highweight rider who has had 60 career rides to date.
penalty:
Mr Higgins was fined $450.
In conclusion the Committee advised Mr Higgins the starting points for a 2nd and 3rd breach of this Rule.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr B Jones -Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Higgins - Class D Rider
Otherperson: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 510c0abb105aeae60e40edf2d9e84be3
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: b8110fd0ae6696e3a5cddc5f3e9524c8
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/09/2017
meet_title: Racing Te Aroha - 3 September 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: racing-te-aroha
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: ASmith
meet_pm2: none
name: Racing Te Aroha