Rangiora HRC 22 September 2011 – R 1
ID: JCA18189
Meet Title:
Rangiora HRC - 22 September 2011
Meet Chair:
JPhelan
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2011/09/22
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
Charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b).
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the “Christian Cullen” Standing At Wai-Eyre Farm Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr A. L. Ray against Open Horseman Mr W. E. Higgs, the driver of “Jackaroo Bromac” (8), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove carelessly.
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that you allowed your drive to improve into a position to where your horse came into contact with the sulky of “Tiz Tough” resulting in your drive breaking gait when passing the 700m.”
Rules 869(3)(b) reads as follows,
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
Mr Higgs had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Higgs also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Ray gave evidence and used video coverage to show that at about the 700 metre mark Mr Higgs was racing at the rear of the field. A horse improved past Mr Higgs on the outside, and when Mr Higgs moved out to follow this horse, there was contact between these two horses. As a result “Jackaroo Bromac” broke for a few strides. It was Mr Ray’s submission that Mr Higgs should have done more to avoid striking the other horse.
Mr Higgs gave evidence that the knee of his horse hit the sulky seat, but that it was his belief that this was not what caused his horse to break. Mr Higgs explained that in previous starts his horse had broken in similar circumstances, and he thought his horse was “getting on its knee”, and this is what had caused it to break on this and previous occasions.
Mr Higgs also said that he had a good hold of his horse at the time of this incident, as it was racing keenly. When the horse moved past him he went to follow, but his horse grabbed the bit. At the same time as he was making this move outwards there was a slight easing of the pace, and this had contributed to the incident. It was noted by the Committee that Mr Jones horse “Tiz Tough” did appear to ease slightly at the time of the incident.
After hearing the evidence we adjourned to consider our decision.
Reasons for Decision:
We were satisfied that there was contact between Mr Higgs’ horse and the sulky of “Tiz Tough” at about the 700 metre mark. We are satisfied that it was this contact that caused “Jackaroo Bromac” to break, and we reject Mr Higgs’ assertion that his horse broke free of interference. It was the Stipendiary Steward’s case that Mr Higgs should have done more to prevent contact occurring.
Video coverage showed that “Jackaroo Bromac” was being restrained at the back of the field and trailing “Tiz Tough”. After a horse moved past him Mr Higgs pulled his horse out to follow, but at that stage there was contact with “Tiz Tough” and his horse broke. It was established that Mr Higgs had a hold of his horse just prior to the incident, and it was also apparent that just prior to the incident there was a slight easing in the pace. This easing coincided with Mr Higgs moving three wide to improve.
We are satisfied that the combination of these events led to this incident, and we do not believe the evidence is sufficient to show that Mr Higgs was careless. We decided that the charge would be dismissed.
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: f916974473caa27951e70bc38a5ae8b4
informantnumber: 69230
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 20/09/2011
hearing_title: Rangiora HRC 22 September 2011 - R 1
charge:
Alleged breach of Rule 869(3)(b).
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the “Christian Cullen” Standing At Wai-Eyre Farm Mobile Pace, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr A. L. Ray against Open Horseman Mr W. E. Higgs, the driver of “Jackaroo Bromac” (8), alleging a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that he drove carelessly.
The charge reads as follows.
“I the above named informant allege that the above named Defendant committed a breach of Rule 869(3)(b) in that you allowed your drive to improve into a position to where your horse came into contact with the sulky of “Tiz Tough” resulting in your drive breaking gait when passing the 700m.”
Rules 869(3)(b) reads as follows,
“(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly..”
Mr Higgs had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was not admitted and he confirmed this at the hearing. Mr Higgs also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Ray gave evidence and used video coverage to show that at about the 700 metre mark Mr Higgs was racing at the rear of the field. A horse improved past Mr Higgs on the outside, and when Mr Higgs moved out to follow this horse, there was contact between these two horses. As a result “Jackaroo Bromac” broke for a few strides. It was Mr Ray’s submission that Mr Higgs should have done more to avoid striking the other horse.
Mr Higgs gave evidence that the knee of his horse hit the sulky seat, but that it was his belief that this was not what caused his horse to break. Mr Higgs explained that in previous starts his horse had broken in similar circumstances, and he thought his horse was “getting on its knee”, and this is what had caused it to break on this and previous occasions.
Mr Higgs also said that he had a good hold of his horse at the time of this incident, as it was racing keenly. When the horse moved past him he went to follow, but his horse grabbed the bit. At the same time as he was making this move outwards there was a slight easing of the pace, and this had contributed to the incident. It was noted by the Committee that Mr Jones horse “Tiz Tough” did appear to ease slightly at the time of the incident.
After hearing the evidence we adjourned to consider our decision.
reasonsfordecision:
We were satisfied that there was contact between Mr Higgs’ horse and the sulky of “Tiz Tough” at about the 700 metre mark. We are satisfied that it was this contact that caused “Jackaroo Bromac” to break, and we reject Mr Higgs’ assertion that his horse broke free of interference. It was the Stipendiary Steward’s case that Mr Higgs should have done more to prevent contact occurring.
Video coverage showed that “Jackaroo Bromac” was being restrained at the back of the field and trailing “Tiz Tough”. After a horse moved past him Mr Higgs pulled his horse out to follow, but at that stage there was contact with “Tiz Tough” and his horse broke. It was established that Mr Higgs had a hold of his horse just prior to the incident, and it was also apparent that just prior to the incident there was a slight easing in the pace. This easing coincided with Mr Higgs moving three wide to improve.
We are satisfied that the combination of these events led to this incident, and we do not believe the evidence is sufficient to show that Mr Higgs was careless. We decided that the charge would be dismissed.
Decision:
The charge was dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr AL Ray - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr WE Higgs - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 093e467ef8933b260338610361985325
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: d6e80cdd9bc2050695973897d5e604cb
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 22/09/2011
meet_title: Rangiora HRC - 22 September 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: rangiora-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: JPhelan
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: Rangiora HRC