Ashburton TC 26 October 2015 – R 4 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA16628
Meet Title:
Ashburton TC - 26 October 2015
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2015/10/26
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Gluyas Motor Group Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr M J Anderson, alleging that, as the driver of HE CAN FLY in the race, he “failed to take all steps to activate gear (hopple shorteners) upon HE CAN FLY”.
Mr Anderson was present at the hearing of the information form and he indicated that he denied the breach. Mr Anderson was assisted at the hearing by Licensed Open Horseman, Mr G D Smith.
Rule 864 provides as follows:
(2) Every horseman, owner, trainer and assistant thereof of a horse shall with regard to that horse ensure that:-
(e) that all steps are taken to activate gear, appliances or devices which requires activation.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Ydgren pointed out on a video replay HE CAN FLY, driven by Mr Anderson, racing in the trail behind the leader and eventual winner, G I JOE, as the field turned into the final straight. He submitted that the horse had “raced roughly’ in the run home. Mr Ydgren pointed out on a video replay that, shortly after the finishing line, the shortener pin was still in place in the off-side hopples.
Mr Renault, Stipendiary Steward, said that he was in the birdcage post-race and noticed that the off-side hopples shortener on HE CAN FLY was still in place. When he asked Mr Anderson to explain, Mr Anderson said that he thought that he had activated it. At Mr Renault’s request, Mr Anderson pulled the hopples shortener cord and the pin came straight out. There did not appear to have been any malfunction, Mr Renault said.
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the field racing round the first bend. Mr Anderson had just taken the horse to the lead, and it could be seen that he made an effort to activate the hopples shorteners, he said. However, only the right-hand side had come out – the left- hand side did not. Mr Anderson had advised the Stewards that he had made no further attempt to activate the other shortener and had not checked that it had come out, Mr Ydgren said.
The horse had raced with the right-hand shortener still in which had shortened that hopple up, Mr Ydgren said. In a close finish, the Stewards submitted, it was entirely reasonable to suggest that that had an adverse effect on not only the horse’s performance but also its placing.
Mr Smith explained to the Committee that, if the ring or handle of the cord was pulled right back, both pins would normally come out. On rare occasions, one pin may remain in place and, if the cord were pulled again as had happened in the birdcage after the race, it could come out.
Mr Anderson had not checked to see that the gear had been activated or made any further attempt to activate it, Mr Ydgren submitted. In failing to do so, he had fallen short in that he failed to take “all steps” to activate the gear.
Mr Smith submitted that it could be seen on the video replay that Mr Anderson’s elbow had come right back. If only one pin comes out, the cord would not normally pull right back, he said. Mr Smith said that he understood that the strap was only back five holes which was, he submitted, a “minimal amount” and would make no difference to a horse in a finish. The horse had not “gone rough” because Mr Anderson had driven it out all the way down the straight. Mr Smith submitted that Mr Anderson had made a “reasonable attempt” having given the cord a “decent pull” – his elbow could be seen on the replay to extend well beyond his back. Most drivers would not check because they could feel the gear activate and would not check because there are other things to concentrate on.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Anderson said that he had not felt that the horse had paced any differently. He confirmed that he had no idea that the pin had not released until he got back the birdcage after the race. Mr Anderson submitted that the gear had been poorly applied. He had given the handle of the cord a very firm pull and had no reason to believe the gear had not been fully activated. Mr Smith submitted that, if the cord comes right back when pulled, a driver would not normally look to check if it had been fully activated. It is possible to check if a driver has reason to believe there is a problem with the horse hanging or having a problem with its gait. Mr Anderson said that he did not believe that the chances of his horse had been in any way affected.
Finally, Mr Anderson, when asked by Mr Ydgren, said that he had not put the hopples shorteners in and that it had not been done at the start. He did not check the pins prior to getting into the sulky, he said.
Reasons for Decision:
The Rule requires a driver to take “all steps” to activate gear. We take that to mean to mean all steps which a reasonable driver would be expected to take.
We heard, and it could be seen on the videos, that Mr Anderson, after the start, gave a solid pull on the cord to activate the hopples shorteners on his horse. It was agreed that Mr Anderson took that action and that only one shortener was activated as a result of that action by him.
We found the account given by Mr Smith to be most helpful. That was to the effect that, if a cord is pulled and the driver has no reason to suspect that both hopples shorteners have not been activated, then that driver would take no further steps unless, for some reason, for example the horse was hanging or pacing roughly, he was alerted to the fact that only one side had been activated. Mr Smith also explained that, in this case, the hopples had been shortened by only a very small extent, which would have been a further factor in Mr Anderson’s being unaware of the failure to activate.
We are satisfied that, in this case, Mr Anderson would have had no reason to suspect and we are satisfied that, had he been aware, he would have taken any further steps necessary to activate the other hopples shortener. We are satisfied that Mr Anderson took reasonable steps to activate the hopples shorteners and it was not unreasonable for him to believe that they had been fully activated.
The Committee heard a lot of evidence concerning the effect that the failure to activate would have had on the horse and, possibly, its finishing position. In the final analysis, we were not concerned with that aspect of the failure to activate. We were required to look at the steps taken by Mr Anderson, on this occasion, to activate the gear and we were satisfied that he took the steps that a reasonable driver would have taken, as told to us by Mr Smith, an experienced senior horseman.
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: ce51c58e8d11245aae2f2a70e71b512a
informantnumber: A6731
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failing to activate gear
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 28/10/2015
hearing_title: Ashburton TC 26 October 2015 - R 4 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Gluyas Motor Group Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr N M Ydgren, against Licensed Junior Horseman, Mr M J Anderson, alleging that, as the driver of HE CAN FLY in the race, he “failed to take all steps to activate gear (hopple shorteners) upon HE CAN FLY”.
Mr Anderson was present at the hearing of the information form and he indicated that he denied the breach. Mr Anderson was assisted at the hearing by Licensed Open Horseman, Mr G D Smith.
Rule 864 provides as follows:
(2) Every horseman, owner, trainer and assistant thereof of a horse shall with regard to that horse ensure that:-
(e) that all steps are taken to activate gear, appliances or devices which requires activation.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Ydgren pointed out on a video replay HE CAN FLY, driven by Mr Anderson, racing in the trail behind the leader and eventual winner, G I JOE, as the field turned into the final straight. He submitted that the horse had “raced roughly’ in the run home. Mr Ydgren pointed out on a video replay that, shortly after the finishing line, the shortener pin was still in place in the off-side hopples.
Mr Renault, Stipendiary Steward, said that he was in the birdcage post-race and noticed that the off-side hopples shortener on HE CAN FLY was still in place. When he asked Mr Anderson to explain, Mr Anderson said that he thought that he had activated it. At Mr Renault’s request, Mr Anderson pulled the hopples shortener cord and the pin came straight out. There did not appear to have been any malfunction, Mr Renault said.
Mr Ydgren showed a video replay of the field racing round the first bend. Mr Anderson had just taken the horse to the lead, and it could be seen that he made an effort to activate the hopples shorteners, he said. However, only the right-hand side had come out – the left- hand side did not. Mr Anderson had advised the Stewards that he had made no further attempt to activate the other shortener and had not checked that it had come out, Mr Ydgren said.
The horse had raced with the right-hand shortener still in which had shortened that hopple up, Mr Ydgren said. In a close finish, the Stewards submitted, it was entirely reasonable to suggest that that had an adverse effect on not only the horse’s performance but also its placing.
Mr Smith explained to the Committee that, if the ring or handle of the cord was pulled right back, both pins would normally come out. On rare occasions, one pin may remain in place and, if the cord were pulled again as had happened in the birdcage after the race, it could come out.
Mr Anderson had not checked to see that the gear had been activated or made any further attempt to activate it, Mr Ydgren submitted. In failing to do so, he had fallen short in that he failed to take “all steps” to activate the gear.
Mr Smith submitted that it could be seen on the video replay that Mr Anderson’s elbow had come right back. If only one pin comes out, the cord would not normally pull right back, he said. Mr Smith said that he understood that the strap was only back five holes which was, he submitted, a “minimal amount” and would make no difference to a horse in a finish. The horse had not “gone rough” because Mr Anderson had driven it out all the way down the straight. Mr Smith submitted that Mr Anderson had made a “reasonable attempt” having given the cord a “decent pull” – his elbow could be seen on the replay to extend well beyond his back. Most drivers would not check because they could feel the gear activate and would not check because there are other things to concentrate on.
In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Anderson said that he had not felt that the horse had paced any differently. He confirmed that he had no idea that the pin had not released until he got back the birdcage after the race. Mr Anderson submitted that the gear had been poorly applied. He had given the handle of the cord a very firm pull and had no reason to believe the gear had not been fully activated. Mr Smith submitted that, if the cord comes right back when pulled, a driver would not normally look to check if it had been fully activated. It is possible to check if a driver has reason to believe there is a problem with the horse hanging or having a problem with its gait. Mr Anderson said that he did not believe that the chances of his horse had been in any way affected.
Finally, Mr Anderson, when asked by Mr Ydgren, said that he had not put the hopples shorteners in and that it had not been done at the start. He did not check the pins prior to getting into the sulky, he said.
reasonsfordecision:
The Rule requires a driver to take “all steps” to activate gear. We take that to mean to mean all steps which a reasonable driver would be expected to take.
We heard, and it could be seen on the videos, that Mr Anderson, after the start, gave a solid pull on the cord to activate the hopples shorteners on his horse. It was agreed that Mr Anderson took that action and that only one shortener was activated as a result of that action by him.
We found the account given by Mr Smith to be most helpful. That was to the effect that, if a cord is pulled and the driver has no reason to suspect that both hopples shorteners have not been activated, then that driver would take no further steps unless, for some reason, for example the horse was hanging or pacing roughly, he was alerted to the fact that only one side had been activated. Mr Smith also explained that, in this case, the hopples had been shortened by only a very small extent, which would have been a further factor in Mr Anderson’s being unaware of the failure to activate.
We are satisfied that, in this case, Mr Anderson would have had no reason to suspect and we are satisfied that, had he been aware, he would have taken any further steps necessary to activate the other hopples shortener. We are satisfied that Mr Anderson took reasonable steps to activate the hopples shorteners and it was not unreasonable for him to believe that they had been fully activated.
The Committee heard a lot of evidence concerning the effect that the failure to activate would have had on the horse and, possibly, its finishing position. In the final analysis, we were not concerned with that aspect of the failure to activate. We were required to look at the steps taken by Mr Anderson, on this occasion, to activate the gear and we were satisfied that he took the steps that a reasonable driver would have taken, as told to us by Mr Smith, an experienced senior horseman.
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 864(2)(e)
Informant: Mr N M Ydgren - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: M J Anderson, Licensed Junior Driver
Otherperson: G D Smith - Licensed Open Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 51caa25ec66a80cbf9860559e744998f
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
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race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
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meetid: ff61dcde490e07e1c9b2b608b87dc6b3
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meet_emailed1: 0
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meetdate: 26/10/2015
meet_title: Ashburton TC - 26 October 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: ashburton-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
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name: Ashburton TC