Timaru HRC – 17 December 2009 – Race 3
ID: JCA22244
Hearing Type (Code):
harness-racing
Meet Title:
Timaru HRC - 17 December 2009
Race Date:
2009/12/17
Race Number:
Race 3
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 67841
--Meeting: Timaru Harness Racing Club Date: 17 December 2009
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 3
--Rule(s): 869 (3) (b)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie
Panel Member: J M Phelan
Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: D J Dunn, Licensed Junior Driver
--
DECISION AND REASONS:
Following the running of Race 3, QBE Insurance It Happens Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of McKAY, “drove carelessly when striking the sulky wheel of REBEL SKIPPER causing his own horse to break”.
--
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 67841
--Meeting: Timaru Harness Racing Club Date: 17 December 2009
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 3
--Rule(s): 869 (3) (b)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie
Panel Member: J M Phelan
Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: D J Dunn, Licensed Junior Driver
--
DECISION AND REASONS:
Following the running of Race 3, QBE Insurance It Happens Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of McKAY, “drove carelessly when striking the sulky wheel of REBEL SKIPPER causing his own horse to break”.
--Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he did not admit the breach. Mr Dunn was assisted at the hearing of the charge by Licensed Open Driver, Mr A M Butt.
--Rule 869 provides as follows:
--(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
Mrs Williams said that the Stewards were alleging that, racing into the final bend, Mr Dunn had gone for a gap where there was insufficient room with the inside runners also looking for a run and moving out and taking positions that had been vacated. In particular, LAURRAL BELLBOY (M R Hay) had been racing three-deep on the markers and shifted out in to the one-one position where FRANCO TRANSIT (G D Smith) pushed a runner, REBEL SKIPPER (T S Chmiel), on its outside 4-wide. There was a clear run for WONDERFUL TONIGHT (J R Dunn). Both of those horses shifted out into gaps which were there, she alleged. At that point, Mr Dunn, instead of staying on the back of REBEL SKIPPER, attempted to “cut back inside”, ran out of room and struck the wheel of REBEL SKIPPER, causing his own horse to break. Mrs Williams said it was “a risky manoeuvre”. It was usual for drivers, at that stage of the race, to look for runs on the outside rather than shift back down inside other runners, Mrs Williams said.
--Mr S P Renault, Stipendiary Steward, showed the incident on video replays.
--Mr Butt alleged that Mr Dunn had got up inside the wheel of Mr Chmiel before the incident occurred. He pointed this out on a video replay. Mr Dunn said that his horse’s leg hit the wheel “on the way out”. He had got up inside the wheel of REBEL SKIPPER. Using the head-on video, Mr Butt alleged that Mr J Dunn on WONDERFUL TONIGHT did not follow FRANCO TRANSIT, as alleged by Mrs Williams. There was a clear gap to which Mr D J Dunn was “more than entitled”. FRANCO TRANSIT was established in the 3-wide line and REBEL SKIPPER was clearly 4-wide. There was a gap prior to John Dunn’s angling out. Mr Dexter Dunn was established in the gap before Mr John Dunn was, Mr Butt submitted. The incident had occurred as a result of the movement from the inside horse, WONDERFUL TONIGHT, forcing Mr Dunn onto Mr Chmiel’s wheel. Mr Dunn was forced to ease when the gap “disappeared”. It was not Mr Dunn’s fault that the gap, which had been there, closed, Mr Butt said.
--Mr Dunn submitted that it was clear from the head-on video that the gap was there for him to go into. He had gone into that gap at the same time as the inside horse, WONDERFUL TONIGHT. He had run out of room as a result of inside pressure. Mrs Williams alleged that a prudent driver would not enter a gap that was going to be closing. She alleged that John Dunn was entitled to go into the gap before Dexter Dunn.
--The Committee had listened to the evidence and submissions of the parties and had carefully viewed the video replays of the incident. It was clear that McKAY, driven by Mr Dunn, broke with approximately 600 metres to run. The issue for the Committee to determine was whether that breaking was the result of careless driving by Mr Dunn. Mrs Williams’ allegation was, essentially, that Mr Dunn drove carelessly in attempting to take a gap that he was not entitled to.
--Mr A M Butt argued, very eloquently, for Mr Dunn that there was a clear gap for Mr Dunn when he attempted to angle into it and, in fact, he was partially into that gap when the gap closed, when there was pressure from the inside resulting in tightening. Mr Dunn’s horse broke when it struck the sulky stay of REBEL SKIPPER when Mr Dunn was attempting to ease out of the gap which was closing, Mr Butt said.
--The Committee agreed with Mr Butt that there was a clear gap for Mr Dunn when he attempted to get into the gap. The Committee found that Mr Dunn was entitled to go for the gap and, furthermore, was marginally into it when he received tightening. We believe Mr John Dunn was, legitimately, going for the same gap. We believe that this was supported by the head-on video replay.
--The Committee observed that there was movement from a number of horses at that point in the Race. It was difficult to lay the blame on any one horse or driver. There was clearly movement from LAURRAL BELLBOY (M R Hay), FRANCO TRANSIT (G D Smith) and WONDERFUL TONIGHT (J R Dunn), as well as MCKAY. The combination of this movement resulted in tightening to McKAY, driven by Mr Dunn, in what can be fairly be described as a “racing incident”.
--It follows that the Committee was not satisfied that Mr Dunn drove carelessly and, accordingly, the charge of careless driving was dismissed.
--
R G McKenzie J M Phelan
CHAIR Committee Member
67841
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: a403da12056184a4abd321404b8e3161
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: harness-racing
startdate: 17/12/2009
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Timaru HRC - 17 December 2009 - Race 3
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 67841
--Meeting: Timaru Harness Racing Club Date: 17 December 2009
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 3
--Rule(s): 869 (3) (b)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie
Panel Member: J M Phelan
Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: D J Dunn, Licensed Junior Driver
--
DECISION AND REASONS:
Following the running of Race 3, QBE Insurance It Happens Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of McKAY, “drove carelessly when striking the sulky wheel of REBEL SKIPPER causing his own horse to break”.
--
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
--Information No: 67841
--Meeting: Timaru Harness Racing Club Date: 17 December 2009
--Venue: Addington Raceway, Christchurch Race No: 3
--Rule(s): 869 (3) (b)
--Judicial Committee:
--Chairman: R G McKenzie
Panel Member: J M Phelan
Plea: Admitted
--Appearing:
--Informant: K R Williams, Stipendiary Steward
--Defendant: D J Dunn, Licensed Junior Driver
--
DECISION AND REASONS:
Following the running of Race 3, QBE Insurance It Happens Mobile Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mrs K R Williams, against Licensed Junior Driver, Mr D J Dunn, alleging a breach of Rule 869 (3) (b) in that Mr Dunn, as the driver of McKAY, “drove carelessly when striking the sulky wheel of REBEL SKIPPER causing his own horse to break”.
--Mr Dunn was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he did not admit the breach. Mr Dunn was assisted at the hearing of the charge by Licensed Open Driver, Mr A M Butt.
--Rule 869 provides as follows:
--(3) No horseman in any race shall drive:-
(b) carelessly.
Mrs Williams said that the Stewards were alleging that, racing into the final bend, Mr Dunn had gone for a gap where there was insufficient room with the inside runners also looking for a run and moving out and taking positions that had been vacated. In particular, LAURRAL BELLBOY (M R Hay) had been racing three-deep on the markers and shifted out in to the one-one position where FRANCO TRANSIT (G D Smith) pushed a runner, REBEL SKIPPER (T S Chmiel), on its outside 4-wide. There was a clear run for WONDERFUL TONIGHT (J R Dunn). Both of those horses shifted out into gaps which were there, she alleged. At that point, Mr Dunn, instead of staying on the back of REBEL SKIPPER, attempted to “cut back inside”, ran out of room and struck the wheel of REBEL SKIPPER, causing his own horse to break. Mrs Williams said it was “a risky manoeuvre”. It was usual for drivers, at that stage of the race, to look for runs on the outside rather than shift back down inside other runners, Mrs Williams said.
--Mr S P Renault, Stipendiary Steward, showed the incident on video replays.
--Mr Butt alleged that Mr Dunn had got up inside the wheel of Mr Chmiel before the incident occurred. He pointed this out on a video replay. Mr Dunn said that his horse’s leg hit the wheel “on the way out”. He had got up inside the wheel of REBEL SKIPPER. Using the head-on video, Mr Butt alleged that Mr J Dunn on WONDERFUL TONIGHT did not follow FRANCO TRANSIT, as alleged by Mrs Williams. There was a clear gap to which Mr D J Dunn was “more than entitled”. FRANCO TRANSIT was established in the 3-wide line and REBEL SKIPPER was clearly 4-wide. There was a gap prior to John Dunn’s angling out. Mr Dexter Dunn was established in the gap before Mr John Dunn was, Mr Butt submitted. The incident had occurred as a result of the movement from the inside horse, WONDERFUL TONIGHT, forcing Mr Dunn onto Mr Chmiel’s wheel. Mr Dunn was forced to ease when the gap “disappeared”. It was not Mr Dunn’s fault that the gap, which had been there, closed, Mr Butt said.
--Mr Dunn submitted that it was clear from the head-on video that the gap was there for him to go into. He had gone into that gap at the same time as the inside horse, WONDERFUL TONIGHT. He had run out of room as a result of inside pressure. Mrs Williams alleged that a prudent driver would not enter a gap that was going to be closing. She alleged that John Dunn was entitled to go into the gap before Dexter Dunn.
--The Committee had listened to the evidence and submissions of the parties and had carefully viewed the video replays of the incident. It was clear that McKAY, driven by Mr Dunn, broke with approximately 600 metres to run. The issue for the Committee to determine was whether that breaking was the result of careless driving by Mr Dunn. Mrs Williams’ allegation was, essentially, that Mr Dunn drove carelessly in attempting to take a gap that he was not entitled to.
--Mr A M Butt argued, very eloquently, for Mr Dunn that there was a clear gap for Mr Dunn when he attempted to angle into it and, in fact, he was partially into that gap when the gap closed, when there was pressure from the inside resulting in tightening. Mr Dunn’s horse broke when it struck the sulky stay of REBEL SKIPPER when Mr Dunn was attempting to ease out of the gap which was closing, Mr Butt said.
--The Committee agreed with Mr Butt that there was a clear gap for Mr Dunn when he attempted to get into the gap. The Committee found that Mr Dunn was entitled to go for the gap and, furthermore, was marginally into it when he received tightening. We believe Mr John Dunn was, legitimately, going for the same gap. We believe that this was supported by the head-on video replay.
--The Committee observed that there was movement from a number of horses at that point in the Race. It was difficult to lay the blame on any one horse or driver. There was clearly movement from LAURRAL BELLBOY (M R Hay), FRANCO TRANSIT (G D Smith) and WONDERFUL TONIGHT (J R Dunn), as well as MCKAY. The combination of this movement resulted in tightening to McKAY, driven by Mr Dunn, in what can be fairly be described as a “racing incident”.
--It follows that the Committee was not satisfied that Mr Dunn drove carelessly and, accordingly, the charge of careless driving was dismissed.
--
R G McKenzie J M Phelan
CHAIR Committee Member
67841
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 869.3.b
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b30c2309d90dfebae264f9488248155c
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: Race 3
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meetdate: 17/12/2009
meet_title: Timaru HRC - 17 December 2009
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meet_racingtype: harness-racing
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