Methven TC – 29 March 2009 –

hearingid: b177c46007c8ce83731bf38f2a06f4d3

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startdate: 29/03/2009

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hearing_title: Methven TC - 29 March 2009 -

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Following the running of race 2 an information was lodged by the Stipendiary Stewards against Mr F H Morris alleging a breach of rule 864 (2) (d) in that he did not affix the pull down blinds  on Mulligar Mac so as not to malfunction when they were activated during the race.

Following the running of race 2 an information was lodged by the Stipendiary Stewards against Mr F H Morris alleging a breach of rule 864 (2) (d) in that he did not affix the pull down blinds  on Mulligar Mac so as not to malfunction when they were activated during the race.

The relevant rule reads:
864 (2) 
Every horseman, owner, trainer and assistant thereof of a horse shall with regarding to that horse ensure that:-
(d) all gear is correctly applied and/or affixed so as not to malfunction or come adrift;

At the outset of the hearing it was noted by the Committee from a perusal of the information that Mr Morris did not admit the breach and was present at the hearing when asked to confirm his plea Mr Morris indicated that he now did not admit the breach.

Mr McIntyre said that Mr K Hadfield, the driver of Mulligar Mac, advised the Stipendiary Stewards after the race that he had been unable to activate the pull down blinds despite attempting to do so.  He advised the Stipendiary Stewards that the outside blind had fully malfunctioned and the inside blind had only partly malfunctioned.

The Stipendiary Stewards then demonstrated the malfunction of the blinds with the use of the video evidence. From the video evidence it could clearly be seen that Mr Hadfield had attempted to release the pull down blinds. Mr McIntyre confirmed that the outside blind had malfunctioned completely and the inside blind had been able to be pulled down to about a quarter or half the position it should have been in.  Mr McIntyre said it was a strict liability offence.

Mr Morris said that he had used the pull down blinds in previous races and had no idea why they had malfunctioned.  He suggested that Mr Hadfield may not have activated the blinds correctly but did  not attempt to produce any evidence to support that contention.  

The Committee, after giving consideration to the information presented to it by both the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Morris accepts the Stipendiary Stewards view that the offence is one of strict liability and all parties at the hearing agreed that the pull down blinds had malfunctioned. The charge is, accordingly, found proven.

In respect of penalty the Stipendiary Stewards advised the Committee that Mr Morris had one previous offence under the rule during the preceding twelve months and sought a monetary penalty to reflect the previous offending.

Mr Morris made no submission as to the appropriate penalty.

The Committee, after considering the incident itself, the evidence presented by the Stipendiary Stewards and Mr Morris and to reflect the previous offence under the rule in the last twelve months imposes a fine of $100.00.

Bevan Coombes

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Rules: 864.2.d

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