Auckland RC 1 January 2019 – R 9 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA15600
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 1 January 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/01/01
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
Mr Rusof has admitted the breach and it is therefore proved.
Penalty:
We grant Mr Rusof a deferment of suspension pursuant to Rule 1106 (2).
Accordingly, we impose a suspension on Mr Rusof which will commence after racing on 5 January 2019 and conclude after racing on 20 January 2019 (12 National days).
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 9, the Sistema Railway, Group 1 race with stake money of $200,000. Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging senior rider, Mr S Rusof (MELODY BELLE) permitted his mount to shift in near the 1000 metres forcing ROCANTO across heels which was checked.
Mr Rusof acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the Rule. He also confirmed that he did admit the breach.
Rule 638(1) (d) provides that:
A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Coles identified the alleged incident using available video footage. He said that MELODY BELLE jumped from the outside barrier at the 1200 metre start point and raced wide for the first 100 metres with ROCANTO (C Johnson) racing directly to its inside. Near the 1000 metres he angled in when insufficiently clear of ROCANTO which was forced across the heels of SANTA MONICA (T Thornton) who became awkwardly placed. STRATOCASTER (O Bosson) was also crowded. ROCANTO was dictated inwards and checked, requiring Mr Johnson to take a strong hold of his mount. SANTA MONICA and STRATOCASTER were also both checked. Mr Coles said MELODY BELLE was at no stage ever clear of ROCANTO and of particular concern was that Mr Rusof continued to ease his mount across for some distance.
In response Mr Rusof said that he misjudged the angle of the first bend after jumping from the barrier. He said his inward shift was an overreaction and his mount changed leg.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham advised the Committee that Mr Rusof has breached the careless riding rule on 5 previous occasions during the past 12 months; namely:
- 14 March 18 – mid range resulting in a 7 day suspension
- 8 April 2018 - low level resulting in a 5 day suspension
- 9 May 2018 – mid range resulting in a 7 day suspension
- 30 June 2018 – above mi-range resulting in a 10 day suspension
- 19 September 2018 – mid-range resulting in a 7 day suspension.
Mr Oatham said Mr Rusof has had 321 race day rides in the past 12 months and described his record as average at best and bordering on poor. He said the only mitigating factor is Mr Rusof’s admission of the breach and aggravating factors included the status of the race and the $200,000 stake money. He assessed the level of carelessness on this occasion to be mid-range or just above.
Mr Rusof said he has firm race riding engagements up to and including 5 January 2019 and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after that date. He offered no submissions in terms of any proposed penalty.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Rusof described his level of carelessness as mid-range.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining an appropriate penalty the Committee has taken into account the overall circumstances of the breach, the submissions of both Mr Oatham and Mr Rusof, albeit he offered no comment regarding penalty. The Committee also considered penalties handed out for similar breaches in Group races and are mindful of the fact that breaches of similar culpability should, as a general rule attract broadly similar penalties.
Rule 920 (2) empowers Judicial Committees, when assessing penalty to have regard for:
(a) the status of the Race ;
(b) the stake payable in respect of the Race
(c) any consequential effects upon any person or horse as a result of the breach of the Rule;
On reviewing the video films the Committee observed that Mr Rusof allowed his mount to dictate ROCANTO across the heels of SANTA MONICA who was tightened for a stride. As a result ROCANTO received a sharp check and came back onto STRATOCASTER who had to be steadied.
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends suspension starting points for low, mid, and high carelessness is 6, 8, and 10 to be National riding days respectively.
We assessed Mr Rusof’s level of carelessness to be mid-range and on that basis adopted an 8 day suspension as a starting point.
As this was Group 1 race, carrying stake money of $200,000; and 3 horses received interference and had their runs interrupted to varying degrees we applied a 4-day penalty uplift. We also took into consideration Mr Rusof’s poor riding record and applied a further 1-day uplift.
In mitigation we afforded Mr Rusof a 1 day penalty reduction for his admission of the breach. We were also mindful that any proposed suspension will encompass forthcoming premier race meetings.
After taking into account all the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a 12 day suspension.
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: b93b3b1c375cb4ca2c6bdfc06d4f1769
informantnumber: A12115
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 02/01/2019
hearing_title: Auckland RC 1 January 2019 - R 9 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 9, the Sistema Railway, Group 1 race with stake money of $200,000. Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham filed an Information pursuant to Rule 638(1)(d) alleging senior rider, Mr S Rusof (MELODY BELLE) permitted his mount to shift in near the 1000 metres forcing ROCANTO across heels which was checked.
Mr Rusof acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge and the Rule. He also confirmed that he did admit the breach.
Rule 638(1) (d) provides that:
A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.
Stipendiary Steward, Mr Coles identified the alleged incident using available video footage. He said that MELODY BELLE jumped from the outside barrier at the 1200 metre start point and raced wide for the first 100 metres with ROCANTO (C Johnson) racing directly to its inside. Near the 1000 metres he angled in when insufficiently clear of ROCANTO which was forced across the heels of SANTA MONICA (T Thornton) who became awkwardly placed. STRATOCASTER (O Bosson) was also crowded. ROCANTO was dictated inwards and checked, requiring Mr Johnson to take a strong hold of his mount. SANTA MONICA and STRATOCASTER were also both checked. Mr Coles said MELODY BELLE was at no stage ever clear of ROCANTO and of particular concern was that Mr Rusof continued to ease his mount across for some distance.
In response Mr Rusof said that he misjudged the angle of the first bend after jumping from the barrier. He said his inward shift was an overreaction and his mount changed leg.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Rusof has admitted the breach and it is therefore proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham advised the Committee that Mr Rusof has breached the careless riding rule on 5 previous occasions during the past 12 months; namely:
- 14 March 18 – mid range resulting in a 7 day suspension
- 8 April 2018 - low level resulting in a 5 day suspension
- 9 May 2018 – mid range resulting in a 7 day suspension
- 30 June 2018 – above mi-range resulting in a 10 day suspension
- 19 September 2018 – mid-range resulting in a 7 day suspension.
Mr Oatham said Mr Rusof has had 321 race day rides in the past 12 months and described his record as average at best and bordering on poor. He said the only mitigating factor is Mr Rusof’s admission of the breach and aggravating factors included the status of the race and the $200,000 stake money. He assessed the level of carelessness on this occasion to be mid-range or just above.
Mr Rusof said he has firm race riding engagements up to and including 5 January 2019 and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension until after that date. He offered no submissions in terms of any proposed penalty.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Rusof described his level of carelessness as mid-range.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining an appropriate penalty the Committee has taken into account the overall circumstances of the breach, the submissions of both Mr Oatham and Mr Rusof, albeit he offered no comment regarding penalty. The Committee also considered penalties handed out for similar breaches in Group races and are mindful of the fact that breaches of similar culpability should, as a general rule attract broadly similar penalties.
Rule 920 (2) empowers Judicial Committees, when assessing penalty to have regard for:
(a) the status of the Race ;
(b) the stake payable in respect of the Race
(c) any consequential effects upon any person or horse as a result of the breach of the Rule;
On reviewing the video films the Committee observed that Mr Rusof allowed his mount to dictate ROCANTO across the heels of SANTA MONICA who was tightened for a stride. As a result ROCANTO received a sharp check and came back onto STRATOCASTER who had to be steadied.
The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends suspension starting points for low, mid, and high carelessness is 6, 8, and 10 to be National riding days respectively.
We assessed Mr Rusof’s level of carelessness to be mid-range and on that basis adopted an 8 day suspension as a starting point.
As this was Group 1 race, carrying stake money of $200,000; and 3 horses received interference and had their runs interrupted to varying degrees we applied a 4-day penalty uplift. We also took into consideration Mr Rusof’s poor riding record and applied a further 1-day uplift.
In mitigation we afforded Mr Rusof a 1 day penalty reduction for his admission of the breach. We were also mindful that any proposed suspension will encompass forthcoming premier race meetings.
After taking into account all the above factors we consider an appropriate penalty is a 12 day suspension.
penalty:
We grant Mr Rusof a deferment of suspension pursuant to Rule 1106 (2).
Accordingly, we impose a suspension on Mr Rusof which will commence after racing on 5 January 2019 and conclude after racing on 20 January 2019 (12 National days).
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Rusof - Class A Rider
Otherperson: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 3a9a849f64c8e96e2824c9761533244f
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
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meetdate: 01/01/2019
meet_title: Auckland RC - 1 January 2019
meet_expappcomment:
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meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
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name: Auckland RC