Archive Decision

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Auckland RC 1 November 2016 – R 6 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA18118

Applicant:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr S Weatherley - Apprentice Rider of CANDLE IN THE WIND

Other Person:
Mr N Tiley - Trainer, assisting Mr Weatherley, Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A6982

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Riding

Rules:
638(1)(d)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 1 November 2016

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2016/11/01

Race Number:
R6

Decision:

As Mr Weatherley admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

Penalty:

We grant Mr Weatherley’s request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).

Accordingly, Mr Weatherley had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 8 November and conclude after racing on 15 November 2016 (6 days).

That period of suspension encompasses meetings at

9 November Christchurch – Premier

10 November Palmerston North

11 November Dargaville

12 November Tauranga or Christchurch - Premier

13 November Waverley

15 November Avondale

Facts:

Following the running of race 6, OMF Stakes - Group 3, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (1)(d). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Weatherley allowed CANDLE IN THE WIND to shift inwards crowding THUNDER DOWN UNDER (T Thornton) which was checked losing ground passing the 1800 metres.

Mr Weatherley acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr N Tiley assisted Mr Weatherley at the hearing.

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that on the point of the corner passing the 1800 metres Mr Weatherley angled his mount inwards when not the required distance clear. This resulted in Mr Colgan the rider of ST JEAN receiving pressure from his outside who in turn put pressure on THUNDER DOWN UNDER. He said that runner was crowded and became unbalanced and lost between 1 and ½ to 2 lengths. He added that THUNDER DOWN UNDER did make contact with the running rail due to the crowding it received from CANDLE IN THE WIND. He said that Mr Weatherley misjudged the situation.

Mr Weatherley had no questions of Mr Coles' interpretation of the incident. He stated that he misjudged the incident and it occurred on a tricky bend.

Mr Tiley said that Mr Weatherley was an inexperienced rider and he didn’t move in much. He accepted it was enough to put a bit of pressure on ST JEAN and THUNDER DOWN UNDER. He added that Mrs Thornton was racing in an awkward position. He stated Mr Weatherley tried to pull off when shifting in about half a mown strip but conceded it was too late.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham produced Mr Weatherley’s record which showed 1 previous breach under this Rule which incurred a 4 day suspension. He advised the Committee that Mr Weatherley has had 241 rides so far in his short career and was a busy and popular Apprentice rider. He said this was a relatively good record and said Mr Weatherley should be given credit for his admission of the breach. He stated the aggravating fact was the interference occurred in a Group 3 race worth $70,000. Mr Oatham submitted a suspension in the 5 to 6 day range would be appropriate.

Mr Oatham produced Mr Weatherely’s recent riding history which showed he had 7 rides at Banks Peninsula on 30 October.

Mr Weatherley advised that he had upcoming engagements at Waipa on 8 November and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension. Mr Weatherley confirmed that it was the first time he had ventured to the South Island when riding at Banks Peninsula on 30 October 2016.

In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Weatherley submitted that it was his intention to ride at Christchurch on the last 2 days of Cup week.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless riding is a 5 day suspension which is adjusted based on the mitigating and aggravating factors.

The mitigating factors were Mr Weatherley’s admission of the breach and his very good record for an Apprentice rider for which he was given a discount.

However, this has to be balanced against the aggravating factors. We reviewed the video footage of the incident and deemed the level of carelessness was mid – range. We identified that Mr Weatherley did look to his inside when initially shifting inwards and he continued to move in and did not relieve the pressure until it was too late. We accept that Mrs Thornton’s mount lost about 2 lengths when it was checked and at no stage was Mr Weatherley the required distance clear. The interference occurred in a Group 3 race worth $70,000 which warrants a further uplift, this is in accordance with Rule 920(2) (a).

The Committee acknowledge that Mr Weatherley did ride at Banks Peninsula last Sunday and were satisfied that he was intending to ride on the last 2 days of Christchurch Cup week.

The Committee had regard to the fact that Mr Weatherley's suspension would include 2 Premier days at Christchurch.

After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate suspension was 6 days.

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: f017865500d2ba18ccc669e9d9020dc9


informantnumber: A6982


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Riding


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 02/11/2016


hearing_title: Auckland RC 1 November 2016 - R 6 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 6, OMF Stakes - Group 3, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (1)(d). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Weatherley allowed CANDLE IN THE WIND to shift inwards crowding THUNDER DOWN UNDER (T Thornton) which was checked losing ground passing the 1800 metres.

Mr Weatherley acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr N Tiley assisted Mr Weatherley at the hearing.

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Mr Coles demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that on the point of the corner passing the 1800 metres Mr Weatherley angled his mount inwards when not the required distance clear. This resulted in Mr Colgan the rider of ST JEAN receiving pressure from his outside who in turn put pressure on THUNDER DOWN UNDER. He said that runner was crowded and became unbalanced and lost between 1 and ½ to 2 lengths. He added that THUNDER DOWN UNDER did make contact with the running rail due to the crowding it received from CANDLE IN THE WIND. He said that Mr Weatherley misjudged the situation.

Mr Weatherley had no questions of Mr Coles' interpretation of the incident. He stated that he misjudged the incident and it occurred on a tricky bend.

Mr Tiley said that Mr Weatherley was an inexperienced rider and he didn’t move in much. He accepted it was enough to put a bit of pressure on ST JEAN and THUNDER DOWN UNDER. He added that Mrs Thornton was racing in an awkward position. He stated Mr Weatherley tried to pull off when shifting in about half a mown strip but conceded it was too late.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Weatherley admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Oatham produced Mr Weatherley’s record which showed 1 previous breach under this Rule which incurred a 4 day suspension. He advised the Committee that Mr Weatherley has had 241 rides so far in his short career and was a busy and popular Apprentice rider. He said this was a relatively good record and said Mr Weatherley should be given credit for his admission of the breach. He stated the aggravating fact was the interference occurred in a Group 3 race worth $70,000. Mr Oatham submitted a suspension in the 5 to 6 day range would be appropriate.

Mr Oatham produced Mr Weatherely’s recent riding history which showed he had 7 rides at Banks Peninsula on 30 October.

Mr Weatherley advised that he had upcoming engagements at Waipa on 8 November and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension. Mr Weatherley confirmed that it was the first time he had ventured to the South Island when riding at Banks Peninsula on 30 October 2016.

In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Weatherley submitted that it was his intention to ride at Christchurch on the last 2 days of Cup week.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless riding is a 5 day suspension which is adjusted based on the mitigating and aggravating factors.

The mitigating factors were Mr Weatherley’s admission of the breach and his very good record for an Apprentice rider for which he was given a discount.

However, this has to be balanced against the aggravating factors. We reviewed the video footage of the incident and deemed the level of carelessness was mid – range. We identified that Mr Weatherley did look to his inside when initially shifting inwards and he continued to move in and did not relieve the pressure until it was too late. We accept that Mrs Thornton’s mount lost about 2 lengths when it was checked and at no stage was Mr Weatherley the required distance clear. The interference occurred in a Group 3 race worth $70,000 which warrants a further uplift, this is in accordance with Rule 920(2) (a).

The Committee acknowledge that Mr Weatherley did ride at Banks Peninsula last Sunday and were satisfied that he was intending to ride on the last 2 days of Christchurch Cup week.

The Committee had regard to the fact that Mr Weatherley's suspension would include 2 Premier days at Christchurch.

After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers an appropriate suspension was 6 days.


penalty:

We grant Mr Weatherley’s request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).

Accordingly, Mr Weatherley had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 8 November and conclude after racing on 15 November 2016 (6 days).

That period of suspension encompasses meetings at

9 November Christchurch – Premier

10 November Palmerston North

11 November Dargaville

12 November Tauranga or Christchurch - Premier

13 November Waverley

15 November Avondale


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(1)(d)


Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Weatherley - Apprentice Rider of CANDLE IN THE WIND


Otherperson: Mr N Tiley - Trainer, assisting Mr Weatherley, Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 3fe42635cb71e6a761c4333209e425a5


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R6


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


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meetdate: 01/11/2016


meet_title: Auckland RC - 1 November 2016


meet_expappcomment:


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tracklocation: auckland-rc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: AGodsalve


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name: Auckland RC