Wyndham HRC 2 February 2014 – R 3
ID: JCA17244
Meet Title:
Wyndham HRC - 2 February 2014
Meet Chair:
NSkelt
Meet Committee Member 1:
DSteel
Race Date:
2014/02/02
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
On that basis the charge of improper driving is dismissed, however the committee upholds the charge of careless driving and find this charge proved.
Penalty:
Mr McLellan is fined the sum of $400 and reminded of his professional obligations and that his driving on this occasion was well below the standard expected of a senior horseman.
Facts:
At the conclusion of Race 4 the P.G Wrightson AON Insurance Brokers Mobile Pace, an information (1710) was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr C. J Allison alleging that passing the 400 metre mark, B. D McLellan (Curragh’s Princess) has allowed Curragh’s Princess to shift outwards allowing Vera’s Delight to improve on its inside and forced Nothing But Girls (C. Hanna) wider on the track with a resulting check to Chief Kapai (A. R Beck).
The Rules Read:
869 (3)(f) No horseman in any race shall drive improperly.
869 (3)(b) No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr B. D McLellan did not admit the breach.
Mr McLellan confirmed he understood the rules under which he had been charged. Given the seriousness of Rule 869 (3)(f) Mr McLellan was made aware that the charge could have been deferred to a non-race day hearing, Mr McLellan confirmed that he wished to have the charges heard on race day (2/2/2014).
Submissions for Decision:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Allison showed the committee several video clips of the alleged incident (side on, head on, back straight). Mr Allison stated that at the beginning of the race Mr McLellan driving Curragh’s Princess leads, then hands up to Ultra Shok (R. Mcllwrick). Curragh's Princess then trails and Vera’s Delight (C. Ferguson), a stable mate of Curragh’s Princess is placed three back on the running line.
Mr Allison stated that the leader Ultra Shok got away to a substantial lead of around seven to eight lengths for the better part of the race, only coming back to the field well into the home straight. Mr Allison also stated that the trailing horses all raced away from the pylons during the event.
Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre was called by Mr Allison to interpret the video. He gave evidence stating that at the 400 metre mark Mr McLellan comes off the running line, “slowly” drifts out, and at the straight entrance is at least two to three cart widths off the running line, leaving a clear path for his trailing stable mate Vera’s Delight to come through. Mr McIntyre demonstrated his point by using the video clip highlighting the outwards movement of Curragh’s Princess, impacting onto Nothing But Girls (C. Hanna) which in turn checks Chief Kapai (A. Beck).
Mr McIntyre also highlighted to the committee a section off the video clip, where he believed Mr McLellan, at about the 350 metre mark looked to his left to see what horse may have been trailing him. When questioned regarding this point Mr McLellan said he knew his stable mate Vera’s Pride was behind him and that he could have come through at any point along the back straight.
Mr Allison then called Mr Beck (Chief Kapai) to tell the committee his version of the events that led to his horse breaking and losing its chance.
Mr Beck stated he was three wide following Mr Hanna, intending to go around him, but the outward movement from horses on his inside, combined with Nothing But Girls coming back on him suddenly, caused him to strike the wheel of nothing But Girls.
Mr Beck when questioned by Mr Allison stated he was not in a position to see how wide the horses on his inner were racing from the pylons.
Mr Allison then called Mr Hanna (Nothing But Girls) to tell the committee what happened prior to coming into the straight entrance for the final time.
Mr Hanna stated he had been racing on the outside of Curragh’s Princess (Mr McLellan) and just before straightening up, he had to move out, because Curragh’s Princess had moved out for no apparent reason. As a result the horse behind him (Chief Kapai) hit “my wheel”.
Mr Hanna said his horse was battling at the time of the incident after a “hard run” but was not stopping. Mr Hanna said his wheel was damaged and the tyre was off the rim.
Mr McLellan had no questions of either Mr Beck or Mr Hanna.
Mr McLellan called Mr Ferguson (Vera’s Pride) to tell the committee his version of the events. Mr Ferguson said that all of the trailing horses were racing at least a half cart or one cart away from the pylons throughout.
He said there was room to get through down the back straight, but his horse needed a trail to do its best, and that he would have had to chase the leader who was a long way in front and his horse was best left for one run.
Mr G. Lee (supporting Mr Ferguson) said there was ‘no intent’ on Mr McLellan’s behalf and that his actions were quite normal on most race days.
Mr McLellan stated his horse was under pressure from a long way out, and that he had slapped her with the reins coming out of the straight the last time. Mr McLellan also stated that it was difficult that he had no “leading horse” to follow and often in races horses raced away from the running line.
Mr McLellan admitted he should possibly have been more proactive and brought Curragh’s Princess back “down a bit” around the 400 metre mark, but he had “no ill intent” in mind to allow his stable mate through on his inside. He said simply he had not reacted to his horse moving out.
Mr Allison then asked Mr McLellan directly ‘Did you let your stable mate through?’ Mr McLellan replied ‘No’.
Mr Allison in summing up stated that it was for the committee to determine on the evidence heard and seen whether Mr McLellan’s actions were either improper, careless or the charges dismissed.
Reasons for Decision:
The committee considered the video evidence carefully, along with the verbal evidence of Mr Beck, Mr Hanna, Mr Ferguson and the defendant, Mr McLellan. By a very fine margin we were unable to uphold the charge of improper driving on the basis that we were unable to establish to our satisfaction that the actions of Mr McLellan were deliberate.
Video footage does show Mr McLellan drifting out slightly further from the markers towards the end of the back straight which would have enabled the trailing horse to have easily come through on the inside from that point should decision have been made to do so.
The fact that Mr McLellan looks back to his inside at about the 400 metre point we believe, is not in itself prejudicial.
We accept Mr McLellan’s word that he was not driving to assist his stable mate, as well as accepting Mr Ferguson’s desire to save his horse for one last run.
Should Mr McLellan have been attempting to assist his other runner, the committee would have expected Mr McLellan to have checked his movement outwards, as by continuing to move out as he did there would have been opportunities for other trailing runners to gain a similar advantage.
Submissions for Penalty:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Allison stated the following, Mr McLellan had in his career 5012 drives, 80 this season and 188 the previous season. Mr McLellan was a very successful senior horseman, who had no previous charges under this rule (869) (3) (B) in the previous twelve months.
Mr Allison emphasised that three horses had their chances extinguished as a result of the incident. Mr Allison also stated that he believed Mr McLellan was one of the cleanest drivers in the region over a long period of time.
Mr Allison believed the degree of carelessness in this instance was mid-range and that a penalty of a two day suspension or a fine of $300.00 may be appropriate. Mr McLellan when questioned stated he had between four and six race day drives at most southern meetings.
Mr McLellan confirmed he had horses racing and drives at the Winton Harness meeting on 7/2/2014, he was unsure of commitments at the Waikouaiti meeting on 9/2/2014, and that he would have horses racing and drives at the Invercargill meeting on 11/2/2014.
Mr McLellan in his submission asked the committee to take into account his previous record when fixing penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The committee believes that this matter can be best dealt with by imposing a fine as we are not certain of Mr McLellan’s upcoming commitments. Taking a start point of $400 as set out in the Penalty Guide we determine the degree of carelessness to be in the upper mid-range. Mr McLellan failed to take any corrective action to prevent his horse drifting out. Three horses lost their chance as a result. We see our start point to be $500 and allow a discount of $100 in recognition of Mr McLellan’s excellent record.
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: ef9e44f57b4b672c073c89f0fc728253
informantnumber: 1710
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Improper Driving and Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 22/01/2014
hearing_title: Wyndham HRC 2 February 2014 - R 3
charge:
facts:
At the conclusion of Race 4 the P.G Wrightson AON Insurance Brokers Mobile Pace, an information (1710) was lodged by Stipendiary Steward Mr C. J Allison alleging that passing the 400 metre mark, B. D McLellan (Curragh’s Princess) has allowed Curragh’s Princess to shift outwards allowing Vera’s Delight to improve on its inside and forced Nothing But Girls (C. Hanna) wider on the track with a resulting check to Chief Kapai (A. R Beck).
The Rules Read:
869 (3)(f) No horseman in any race shall drive improperly.
869 (3)(b) No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr B. D McLellan did not admit the breach.
Mr McLellan confirmed he understood the rules under which he had been charged. Given the seriousness of Rule 869 (3)(f) Mr McLellan was made aware that the charge could have been deferred to a non-race day hearing, Mr McLellan confirmed that he wished to have the charges heard on race day (2/2/2014).
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Allison showed the committee several video clips of the alleged incident (side on, head on, back straight). Mr Allison stated that at the beginning of the race Mr McLellan driving Curragh’s Princess leads, then hands up to Ultra Shok (R. Mcllwrick). Curragh's Princess then trails and Vera’s Delight (C. Ferguson), a stable mate of Curragh’s Princess is placed three back on the running line.
Mr Allison stated that the leader Ultra Shok got away to a substantial lead of around seven to eight lengths for the better part of the race, only coming back to the field well into the home straight. Mr Allison also stated that the trailing horses all raced away from the pylons during the event.
Stipendiary Steward Mr McIntyre was called by Mr Allison to interpret the video. He gave evidence stating that at the 400 metre mark Mr McLellan comes off the running line, “slowly” drifts out, and at the straight entrance is at least two to three cart widths off the running line, leaving a clear path for his trailing stable mate Vera’s Delight to come through. Mr McIntyre demonstrated his point by using the video clip highlighting the outwards movement of Curragh’s Princess, impacting onto Nothing But Girls (C. Hanna) which in turn checks Chief Kapai (A. Beck).
Mr McIntyre also highlighted to the committee a section off the video clip, where he believed Mr McLellan, at about the 350 metre mark looked to his left to see what horse may have been trailing him. When questioned regarding this point Mr McLellan said he knew his stable mate Vera’s Pride was behind him and that he could have come through at any point along the back straight.
Mr Allison then called Mr Beck (Chief Kapai) to tell the committee his version of the events that led to his horse breaking and losing its chance.
Mr Beck stated he was three wide following Mr Hanna, intending to go around him, but the outward movement from horses on his inside, combined with Nothing But Girls coming back on him suddenly, caused him to strike the wheel of nothing But Girls.
Mr Beck when questioned by Mr Allison stated he was not in a position to see how wide the horses on his inner were racing from the pylons.
Mr Allison then called Mr Hanna (Nothing But Girls) to tell the committee what happened prior to coming into the straight entrance for the final time.
Mr Hanna stated he had been racing on the outside of Curragh’s Princess (Mr McLellan) and just before straightening up, he had to move out, because Curragh’s Princess had moved out for no apparent reason. As a result the horse behind him (Chief Kapai) hit “my wheel”.
Mr Hanna said his horse was battling at the time of the incident after a “hard run” but was not stopping. Mr Hanna said his wheel was damaged and the tyre was off the rim.
Mr McLellan had no questions of either Mr Beck or Mr Hanna.
Mr McLellan called Mr Ferguson (Vera’s Pride) to tell the committee his version of the events. Mr Ferguson said that all of the trailing horses were racing at least a half cart or one cart away from the pylons throughout.
He said there was room to get through down the back straight, but his horse needed a trail to do its best, and that he would have had to chase the leader who was a long way in front and his horse was best left for one run.
Mr G. Lee (supporting Mr Ferguson) said there was ‘no intent’ on Mr McLellan’s behalf and that his actions were quite normal on most race days.
Mr McLellan stated his horse was under pressure from a long way out, and that he had slapped her with the reins coming out of the straight the last time. Mr McLellan also stated that it was difficult that he had no “leading horse” to follow and often in races horses raced away from the running line.
Mr McLellan admitted he should possibly have been more proactive and brought Curragh’s Princess back “down a bit” around the 400 metre mark, but he had “no ill intent” in mind to allow his stable mate through on his inside. He said simply he had not reacted to his horse moving out.
Mr Allison then asked Mr McLellan directly ‘Did you let your stable mate through?’ Mr McLellan replied ‘No’.
Mr Allison in summing up stated that it was for the committee to determine on the evidence heard and seen whether Mr McLellan’s actions were either improper, careless or the charges dismissed.
reasonsfordecision:
The committee considered the video evidence carefully, along with the verbal evidence of Mr Beck, Mr Hanna, Mr Ferguson and the defendant, Mr McLellan. By a very fine margin we were unable to uphold the charge of improper driving on the basis that we were unable to establish to our satisfaction that the actions of Mr McLellan were deliberate.
Video footage does show Mr McLellan drifting out slightly further from the markers towards the end of the back straight which would have enabled the trailing horse to have easily come through on the inside from that point should decision have been made to do so.
The fact that Mr McLellan looks back to his inside at about the 400 metre point we believe, is not in itself prejudicial.
We accept Mr McLellan’s word that he was not driving to assist his stable mate, as well as accepting Mr Ferguson’s desire to save his horse for one last run.
Should Mr McLellan have been attempting to assist his other runner, the committee would have expected Mr McLellan to have checked his movement outwards, as by continuing to move out as he did there would have been opportunities for other trailing runners to gain a similar advantage.
Decision:
On that basis the charge of improper driving is dismissed, however the committee upholds the charge of careless driving and find this charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Allison stated the following, Mr McLellan had in his career 5012 drives, 80 this season and 188 the previous season. Mr McLellan was a very successful senior horseman, who had no previous charges under this rule (869) (3) (B) in the previous twelve months.
Mr Allison emphasised that three horses had their chances extinguished as a result of the incident. Mr Allison also stated that he believed Mr McLellan was one of the cleanest drivers in the region over a long period of time.
Mr Allison believed the degree of carelessness in this instance was mid-range and that a penalty of a two day suspension or a fine of $300.00 may be appropriate. Mr McLellan when questioned stated he had between four and six race day drives at most southern meetings.
Mr McLellan confirmed he had horses racing and drives at the Winton Harness meeting on 7/2/2014, he was unsure of commitments at the Waikouaiti meeting on 9/2/2014, and that he would have horses racing and drives at the Invercargill meeting on 11/2/2014.
Mr McLellan in his submission asked the committee to take into account his previous record when fixing penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The committee believes that this matter can be best dealt with by imposing a fine as we are not certain of Mr McLellan’s upcoming commitments. Taking a start point of $400 as set out in the Penalty Guide we determine the degree of carelessness to be in the upper mid-range. Mr McLellan failed to take any corrective action to prevent his horse drifting out. Three horses lost their chance as a result. We see our start point to be $500 and allow a discount of $100 in recognition of Mr McLellan’s excellent record.
penalty:
Mr McLellan is fined the sum of $400 and reminded of his professional obligations and that his driving on this occasion was well below the standard expected of a senior horseman.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(f) and 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr C J Allison - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B D McLellan - Driver of CURRAGH'S PRINCESS
Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr C Hanna - Junior Horseman and Driver of NOTHING BUT GIRLS, Mr C Barron - Senior Horseman assisting Mr Hanna, Mr A R Beck - Driver of CHIEF KAPAI, Mr C Ferguson - Junior Horseman and Driver of VERA'S DELIGHT, Mr G Lee - Senior Horseman assisting Mr Ferguson
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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