Auckland TC – 11 March 2005 – Race 8

An information instigating a protest lodged by Chief Stipendiary Steward Mr N. Escott against SOKYOLA driven by Mr L. Justice placed 4^th by the Judge alleging a breach of the above Rules in that SOKYOLA struck a pylon and moved inside other pylons coming around the bend into the home straight. Mr Justice and Mr C. Croft, owner of SOKYOLA, represented the connections of the horse.

Mr J. Muirhead, Stipendiary Steward, demonstrated the two incidents involved by use of the video film. In the first incident he said SOKYOLA brushed a marker peg and in the second incident the sulky wheel ran over and went inside three marker pegs. Mr Justice said the horse was hanging terribly, steering badly, was initially forced to race in restricted room by BOBS BLUE BOY, then raced erratically causing him to hit the horse with the whip on the inside while pulling on the outside rein at the same time in an attempt to straighten the horse. He said he tried to straighten the horse on three or four occasions but the horse was not racing tractably and was very hard to get off the pegs. He said the horse needed a major gear change before it raced again. He said the horse had only raced right handed on three or four occasions.

In response to questions from the Committee, Mr Escott agreed that it was the horse's racing manners which caused the two incidents.

Rule 869 (7A) provides the defence that there is no breach of this Sub-Rule if Mr Justice establishes that the breach was attributable to the behaviour of his own horse or any other horse. Mr Justice has stated, and Mr Escott has agreed, that SOKYOLA was hanging, or to use Mr Justice's own words was "intractable" at these two particular points in the race.

SOKYOLA and not Mr Justice was at fault. In these circumstances there are no grounds upon which we can relegate or disqualify under this Rule. The protest is therefore dismissed.