Wellington RC 8 December 2012 – R 9 (request for a ruling)
ID: JCA16673
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Wellington RC - 8 December 2012
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
NMcCutcheon
Race Date:
2012/12/08
Race Number:
R9
Decision:
Accordingly we were satisfied that JETSET LAD was denied a fair start and we declared him to be a non-starter.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Group 1 Westbury Stud Captain Cook Stakes the Stewards requested a ruling under Rule 632; that the Committee determine whether JETSET LAD was afforded a fair start.
Rule 632 reads: If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placings was prevented from taking an effective part in a Race owing to mechanical failure of starting stalls, or is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse (but not where the horse is slow away by its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Neal showed the head-on view of the start and identified JETSET LAD ridden by Mr Du Plessis in the outside barrier stall. The horse was fractious in the starting gates prior to the start and when the gates opened he was very awkwardly away losing considerable ground.
Mr Du Plessis explained that JETSET LAD was behaving badly necessitating assistance from one of the barrier attendants. He said the horse was going down on his front legs and in order to prevent becoming dislodged he was holding on to the side of the starting stall. He was calling out to Mr Phillips to wait however the gates opened and all Mr Du Plessis was holding onto was the breastplate of the horse. He was hoping the starter would give him one minute to get his left foot in the iron. Mr Du Plessis did his best to stay on JETSET LAD and get his foot in the iron. In response to questions from the committee Mr Du Plessis said if he had been properly positioned on the horse this incident would not have happened. The worst scenario being that JETSET LAD would have been a little tardy away. He also confirmed that the attendant who had hold of the horse’s head had let go as soon as the gate opened.
Mr Phillips said he knew JETSET LAD had a history of being fractious in the gates so he directed a barrier attendant to assist. He was watching the horse as it bobbed its head up and down and when he saw it momentarily stop moving he decided to quickly let the field go. He only heard Mr Du Plessis call out as he hit the starting button.
Mr Wheeler said it was clear there was no mechanical failure of the starting gates but it was obvious the horse did not get a fair start due to Mr Du Plessis not being ready.
Mr Neal agreed with the events as described and said it was up to the committee to decide if JETSET LAD had been denied a fair start bearing in mind the horse had been very fractious in the starting gates.
Reasons for Decision:
The Judicial Committee carefully considered all of the submissions. Whilst JETSET LAD was unsettled in the stall prior to the start the rider was clearly not ready when the gates opened. Mr Du Plessis was holding onto the side of the stall with his left arm and his left foot was out of the iron. The side-on film showed the empty iron and the rider’s left arm behind him as the horse jumped. As JETSET LAD left the gate he immediately veered to the right due to Mr Du Plessis only being able to apply pressure to that rein. He was trying very hard to take control of the horse, get his foot in the iron and stay on board.
It was our opinion that had the Starter been aware of Mr Du Plessis’ predicament he would not have let the field go at that moment. JETSET LAD lost all chance at the start, not because he was fractious (he was stationary at the time the gates opened) or because he was slow of his own accord, but because his rider had one leg dangling free and one arm holding onto the side of the stall.
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: d2f16de252e758dc9808e084d493edd4
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 24/11/2012
hearing_title: Wellington RC 8 December 2012 - R 9 (request for a ruling)
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 9, the Group 1 Westbury Stud Captain Cook Stakes the Stewards requested a ruling under Rule 632; that the Committee determine whether JETSET LAD was afforded a fair start.
Rule 632 reads: If, in the opinion of the Judicial Committee, a horse which does not finish in the first three placings was prevented from taking an effective part in a Race owing to mechanical failure of starting stalls, or is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse (but not where the horse is slow away by its own accord), the Judicial Committee may declare such horse to be a non-starter.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Neal showed the head-on view of the start and identified JETSET LAD ridden by Mr Du Plessis in the outside barrier stall. The horse was fractious in the starting gates prior to the start and when the gates opened he was very awkwardly away losing considerable ground.
Mr Du Plessis explained that JETSET LAD was behaving badly necessitating assistance from one of the barrier attendants. He said the horse was going down on his front legs and in order to prevent becoming dislodged he was holding on to the side of the starting stall. He was calling out to Mr Phillips to wait however the gates opened and all Mr Du Plessis was holding onto was the breastplate of the horse. He was hoping the starter would give him one minute to get his left foot in the iron. Mr Du Plessis did his best to stay on JETSET LAD and get his foot in the iron. In response to questions from the committee Mr Du Plessis said if he had been properly positioned on the horse this incident would not have happened. The worst scenario being that JETSET LAD would have been a little tardy away. He also confirmed that the attendant who had hold of the horse’s head had let go as soon as the gate opened.
Mr Phillips said he knew JETSET LAD had a history of being fractious in the gates so he directed a barrier attendant to assist. He was watching the horse as it bobbed its head up and down and when he saw it momentarily stop moving he decided to quickly let the field go. He only heard Mr Du Plessis call out as he hit the starting button.
Mr Wheeler said it was clear there was no mechanical failure of the starting gates but it was obvious the horse did not get a fair start due to Mr Du Plessis not being ready.
Mr Neal agreed with the events as described and said it was up to the committee to decide if JETSET LAD had been denied a fair start bearing in mind the horse had been very fractious in the starting gates.
reasonsfordecision:
The Judicial Committee carefully considered all of the submissions. Whilst JETSET LAD was unsettled in the stall prior to the start the rider was clearly not ready when the gates opened. Mr Du Plessis was holding onto the side of the stall with his left arm and his left foot was out of the iron. The side-on film showed the empty iron and the rider’s left arm behind him as the horse jumped. As JETSET LAD left the gate he immediately veered to the right due to Mr Du Plessis only being able to apply pressure to that rein. He was trying very hard to take control of the horse, get his foot in the iron and stay on board.
It was our opinion that had the Starter been aware of Mr Du Plessis’ predicament he would not have let the field go at that moment. JETSET LAD lost all chance at the start, not because he was fractious (he was stationary at the time the gates opened) or because he was slow of his own accord, but because his rider had one leg dangling free and one arm holding onto the side of the stall.
Decision:
Accordingly we were satisfied that JETSET LAD was denied a fair start and we declared him to be a non-starter.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Request Ruling
Rules: 632
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mr J Wheeler Trainer JETSET LAD, Mr M Du Plessis Rider JETSET LAD, Mr G Phillips Official Starter, Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward
Respondent:
StipendSteward: Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendary Steward
raceid: 499261b8cace32a9e9c66feda1f319a1
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R9
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 071741d41d8ad17d78034d6a41f8f2fa
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 08/12/2012
meet_title: Wellington RC - 8 December 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: wellington-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: NMcCutcheon
meet_pm2: none
name: Wellington RC