Timaru HRC 14 May 2017 – R 4 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA15625
Meet Title:
Timaru HRC - 14 May 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2017/05/14
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Mr Dunn having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Dunn was fined the sum of $350.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Southfuels Bulk Fuel Specialists Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S T Mulcay, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr D J Dunn, alleging that, as the driver of FIRENZE in the race, he “drove in a manner causing interference to TIME FOR DIAMONDS and SARAH PALIN in the home straight”.
Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
Mr Mulcay showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Dunn, driving FIRENZE, last in the 11-horse field and drawn widest on the track by Mr Dunn as the field entered the final straight. Mr Mulcay pointed out the position of FIRENZE on the track at the 200 metres compared to its position at the finish. It was finishing fast relative to the other runners, Mr Mulcay said, but under a drive from Mr Dunn it shifted in abruptly and, although corrected by Mr Dunn, it was a case of “too little, too late” as far as the Stewards were concerned. Mr Dunn was required to take action earlier in the home straight to keep FIRENZE on a straight course, as required by the Regulations, as he had an unimpeded run to the finish line.
The inwards movement of the horse resulted in some interference to two other runners near the finish line – TIME FOR DIAMONDS (J R Ford) and SARAH PALIN (P J Davis)., Mr Mulcay submitted. There was no allegation of any contact, but Mr Ford, who was holding 3rd place, had to “grab up” with approximately 70 metres to run, finishing in 6th position. Mr Davis had told the Stewards that he had also received some interference which, he felt, may have cost his mare 3rd placing. SARAH PALIN finished in 4th placing.
Mr Dunn accepted that his runner had “ducked in” quite sharply onto the inside runners. He said that he felt he was not required to straighten the horse prior to its ducking in as it was not placing any pressure on the other two runners. When it did duck in, he said, he stopped driving and took a hold of it. He also suggested that SHEZA TRENDY MONARCH (B N Orange), which had been on the inside of SARAH PALIN and TIME FOR DIAMONDS, had shifted out and contributed to the tightening to the other two runners.
Mr Mulcay reminded Mr Dunn of the provisions of paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Regulations.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Dunn had a breach of the Rule in October 2016 but this should not be held against Mr Dunn, having regard to the large number of drives he has had in the meantime. The incident was low-to-mid range but the consequential effects are that it has, possibly or probably, cost two other runners a higher finishing placing, Mr Mulcay submitted.
He referred to the Penalty Guide and the suggested starting point of an 8-drives suspension or a fine of $400. Having regard to Mr Dunn’s admission of the breach and the degree of interference to be balanced against the consequential effects, Stewards were seeking a “moderate fine”, in line with the Penalty Guide.
Mr Dunn asked the Committee to consider the low-end nature of the breach, the stake of the race ($7,000) and his admission of the breach.
He referred to a recent charge under the same Rule against another senior driver in which that driver had denied the charged arising out of race with a higher stake and was fined $150 by the Judicial Committee when the charge was found proved.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $400 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. A fine was an appropriate penalty. There was an aggravating factor in that two other runners in the race may have had their chances affected. An uplift in the starting point to $500 was, therefore, warranted. Mitigating factors were Mr Dunn’s admission of the breach and his previous good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $150.
Mr Dunn made reference to an earlier penalty decision. The Committee looked at the decision of the Judicial Committee in that case. It was able to confirm that the charge was, indeed, defended and that the stake for the race was $9,840. However, the charge under Rule 869 (4) alleged driving in a manner likely to cause interference and not causing actual interference as in the present case. The Penalty Guide starting point for that charge is $300 and not $400. The Judicial Committee found that no placings had been affected. In the event, the horseman was fined $200, after taking into account “the nature of the breach” and the horseman’s good record, and not $150 as submitted by Mr Dunn.
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: bd5e06456929641d11721cf437ba4127
informantnumber: A6291
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Driving in Manner Causing Interference
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 16/05/2017
hearing_title: Timaru HRC 14 May 2017 - R 4 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Southfuels Bulk Fuel Specialists Trot, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr S T Mulcay, against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr D J Dunn, alleging that, as the driver of FIRENZE in the race, he “drove in a manner causing interference to TIME FOR DIAMONDS and SARAH PALIN in the home straight”.
Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(4) No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress.
Mr Mulcay showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Dunn, driving FIRENZE, last in the 11-horse field and drawn widest on the track by Mr Dunn as the field entered the final straight. Mr Mulcay pointed out the position of FIRENZE on the track at the 200 metres compared to its position at the finish. It was finishing fast relative to the other runners, Mr Mulcay said, but under a drive from Mr Dunn it shifted in abruptly and, although corrected by Mr Dunn, it was a case of “too little, too late” as far as the Stewards were concerned. Mr Dunn was required to take action earlier in the home straight to keep FIRENZE on a straight course, as required by the Regulations, as he had an unimpeded run to the finish line.
The inwards movement of the horse resulted in some interference to two other runners near the finish line – TIME FOR DIAMONDS (J R Ford) and SARAH PALIN (P J Davis)., Mr Mulcay submitted. There was no allegation of any contact, but Mr Ford, who was holding 3rd place, had to “grab up” with approximately 70 metres to run, finishing in 6th position. Mr Davis had told the Stewards that he had also received some interference which, he felt, may have cost his mare 3rd placing. SARAH PALIN finished in 4th placing.
Mr Dunn accepted that his runner had “ducked in” quite sharply onto the inside runners. He said that he felt he was not required to straighten the horse prior to its ducking in as it was not placing any pressure on the other two runners. When it did duck in, he said, he stopped driving and took a hold of it. He also suggested that SHEZA TRENDY MONARCH (B N Orange), which had been on the inside of SARAH PALIN and TIME FOR DIAMONDS, had shifted out and contributed to the tightening to the other two runners.
Mr Mulcay reminded Mr Dunn of the provisions of paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Regulations.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Dunn having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Dunn had a breach of the Rule in October 2016 but this should not be held against Mr Dunn, having regard to the large number of drives he has had in the meantime. The incident was low-to-mid range but the consequential effects are that it has, possibly or probably, cost two other runners a higher finishing placing, Mr Mulcay submitted.
He referred to the Penalty Guide and the suggested starting point of an 8-drives suspension or a fine of $400. Having regard to Mr Dunn’s admission of the breach and the degree of interference to be balanced against the consequential effects, Stewards were seeking a “moderate fine”, in line with the Penalty Guide.
Mr Dunn asked the Committee to consider the low-end nature of the breach, the stake of the race ($7,000) and his admission of the breach.
He referred to a recent charge under the same Rule against another senior driver in which that driver had denied the charged arising out of race with a higher stake and was fined $150 by the Judicial Committee when the charge was found proved.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $400 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. A fine was an appropriate penalty. There was an aggravating factor in that two other runners in the race may have had their chances affected. An uplift in the starting point to $500 was, therefore, warranted. Mitigating factors were Mr Dunn’s admission of the breach and his previous good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $150.
Mr Dunn made reference to an earlier penalty decision. The Committee looked at the decision of the Judicial Committee in that case. It was able to confirm that the charge was, indeed, defended and that the stake for the race was $9,840. However, the charge under Rule 869 (4) alleged driving in a manner likely to cause interference and not causing actual interference as in the present case. The Penalty Guide starting point for that charge is $300 and not $400. The Judicial Committee found that no placings had been affected. In the event, the horseman was fined $200, after taking into account “the nature of the breach” and the horseman’s good record, and not $150 as submitted by Mr Dunn.
penalty:
Mr Dunn was fined the sum of $350.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(4) & Passing Lanes, False Rails and Home Straight Regulations
Informant: S T Mulcay, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: D J Dunn, Licensed Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 2ebfad73b1affd4a3f533f49d76e348c
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
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meetid: 305de073eb1e186e0f293c94c470fef6
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meetdate: 14/05/2017
meet_title: Timaru HRC - 14 May 2017
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tracklocation: timaru-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
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name: Timaru HRC