Forbury Park TC 9 December 2016 – R 8 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA17759
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 9 December 2016
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2016/12/09
Race Number:
R 8
Decision:
Mr Ovens has admitted the breach. We thus find the breach proved.
Penalty:
Mr Ovens is fined the sum of $400 and is reminded of his professional obligations.
Facts:
Mr Wallis, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Ovens (FASTROUNDTOWN) drove carelessly entering the first bend when permitting his horse to shift inwards when insufficiently clear of GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL (Ms K Butt), which was severely checked.
Mr Wallis demonstrated on the videos that the respondent had drawn 2 and Ms Butt who drove the horse that suffered interference, GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL, had drawn 9 and was following Mr Barclay who had drawn 1. Mr Ovens had attempted to cross to the trail behind Mr Barclay but Ms Butt was rushing forward and as he continued downwards on the track the wheel of his cart came into contact with the front legs of Ms Butt’s horse.
Mr Wallis acknowledged that there was initially a gap for Mr Ovens to shift into. However, when Ms Butt came up quickly Mr Ovens should have seen her and refrained from continuing to shift in. He believed the respondent had made up his mind to shift into the gap and had just continued to move inwards on the track. The consequence was contact with Ms Butt.
Mr Wallis stated that as a result of the interference GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL ended up three back on the pylons whilst FASTROUNDTOWN got the trail. He said both horses stopped with GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL finishing last and FASTROUNDTOWN second last. He thus did not believe the incident had had any impact on the finishing position of the 2 horses.
Mr Ovens stated that he had seen Ms Butt at the last second. It was too late for him to correct FASTROUNDTOWN as GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL was coming up too fast. The result was he clipped her front legs.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis produced the respondent’s record. This was clear under this rule. Mr Ovens was not a busy driver. He had had 3 drives this season, 23 last and 28 the one before that.
Mr Wallis described the breach as mid range with Ms Butt receiving a severe check and the field being disrupted.
Mr Ovens said he had good record and he believed the incident had not had any effect on the outcome of the race. He said he only drove for Mr Beale and preferred a fine to a suspension. He had had only 54 drives before tonight’s meeting.
Reasons for Penalty:
We believe the breach is at the higher end of mid range. Ms Butt received a nasty check and the field was disrupted as a consequence, with a number of horses forced to shift wider on the track. Slotting into the trail immediately after the start when a horse is progressing to the driver’s inside is a difficult manoeuvre and is one to be taken with a distinct degree of care. We believe an increase in the starting point to $600 is appropriate.
Mitigating factors are Mr Ovens’ excellent record of no breaches of this rule in his driving career, which we note is not that extensive, and his admission of the breach.
After affording a $100 discount for each of these factors, the penalty is a fine of $400.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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hearingid: ea770533f3cf27af149a146a317ff13f
informantnumber: A8429
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 12/12/2016
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 9 December 2016 - R 8 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Mr Wallis, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Ovens (FASTROUNDTOWN) drove carelessly entering the first bend when permitting his horse to shift inwards when insufficiently clear of GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL (Ms K Butt), which was severely checked.
Mr Wallis demonstrated on the videos that the respondent had drawn 2 and Ms Butt who drove the horse that suffered interference, GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL, had drawn 9 and was following Mr Barclay who had drawn 1. Mr Ovens had attempted to cross to the trail behind Mr Barclay but Ms Butt was rushing forward and as he continued downwards on the track the wheel of his cart came into contact with the front legs of Ms Butt’s horse.
Mr Wallis acknowledged that there was initially a gap for Mr Ovens to shift into. However, when Ms Butt came up quickly Mr Ovens should have seen her and refrained from continuing to shift in. He believed the respondent had made up his mind to shift into the gap and had just continued to move inwards on the track. The consequence was contact with Ms Butt.
Mr Wallis stated that as a result of the interference GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL ended up three back on the pylons whilst FASTROUNDTOWN got the trail. He said both horses stopped with GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL finishing last and FASTROUNDTOWN second last. He thus did not believe the incident had had any impact on the finishing position of the 2 horses.
Mr Ovens stated that he had seen Ms Butt at the last second. It was too late for him to correct FASTROUNDTOWN as GOTTA CLASSIE GIRL was coming up too fast. The result was he clipped her front legs.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Ovens has admitted the breach. We thus find the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis produced the respondent’s record. This was clear under this rule. Mr Ovens was not a busy driver. He had had 3 drives this season, 23 last and 28 the one before that.
Mr Wallis described the breach as mid range with Ms Butt receiving a severe check and the field being disrupted.
Mr Ovens said he had good record and he believed the incident had not had any effect on the outcome of the race. He said he only drove for Mr Beale and preferred a fine to a suspension. He had had only 54 drives before tonight’s meeting.
reasonsforpenalty:
We believe the breach is at the higher end of mid range. Ms Butt received a nasty check and the field was disrupted as a consequence, with a number of horses forced to shift wider on the track. Slotting into the trail immediately after the start when a horse is progressing to the driver’s inside is a difficult manoeuvre and is one to be taken with a distinct degree of care. We believe an increase in the starting point to $600 is appropriate.
Mitigating factors are Mr Ovens’ excellent record of no breaches of this rule in his driving career, which we note is not that extensive, and his admission of the breach.
After affording a $100 discount for each of these factors, the penalty is a fine of $400.
penalty:
Mr Ovens is fined the sum of $400 and is reminded of his professional obligations.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S W Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Ovens - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 4559b07ba3b60c46cb1c0d027e6b5ddb
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: be3a60095bea6062847fd5b86b03aaf0
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 09/12/2016
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 9 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC