Ashburton RC 15 March 2018 – R 7 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA14053
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Ashburton RC - 15 March 2018
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2018/03/15
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Murray is fined the sum of $600.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J M McLaughlin, against Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B), Mr B M Murray, alleging that Mr Murray, as the rider of RUBYMOON in the race, “used his whip on his mount RUBYMOON excessively prior to the 100 metres”.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information, assisted by Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr D M Walsh. He indicated that he understood the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 638 provides as follows:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(ii) excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide as follows:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Mr McLaughlin pointed out Mr Murray’s mount on a video replay in second-to-last position in the 14-horse field as the field turned into the home straight. Shortly thereafter, Mr Murray drew his whip. There was never a five-stride respite in the ten strikes of the whip by Mr Murray to just inside the 200 metres. Mr Murray then put his whip away.
Mr McLaughlin described Mr Murray’s actions as “dumb”. His mount was not running on or improving its position, but Mr Murray continued to use the whip and never pushed for the required five strides. He assessed the breach as mid-range. The whip use was unnecessary as well as excessive, Mr McLaughlin submitted. It was difficult to know what was going through Mr Murray’s mind, he said. The only pleasing thing was that he had stopped and not continued using his whip to the line.
Mr Murray explained that the trainer had told him that the horse had been “cheating” in its last four starts so, if the horse was “going no good”, to keep it up to its work. He wanted to see if he could keep the horse going to the line.
Mr Walsh agreed with an observation by the Committee that the trainer’s instructions were only a guide to be followed, if possible. A rider has to be prepared to change plans if necessary. Mr Murray had taken the trainer’s instructions literally and had completely overlooked the requirements of the Rule.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McLaughlin informed the Committee that Mr Murray’s record shows a breach of the Rule at Invercargill on 11 March 2018 for which breach he received a $300 fine. That breach involved 10 times prior to the 100 metres with only a two-stride respite, he said. Mr McLaughlin said that this breach “annoyed” him. It can be dealt with by a fine, but there should be an uplift from the $500 starting point because the breach was “bordering on dumb”, he submitted.
Mr Walsh said that the breach was “pretty clear-cut” and there was not a lot that could be said in Mr Murray’s defence.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the Penalty Guide starting point for a second breach of the Rule of a $500 fine. We agree with Mr McLaughlin that there should be an uplift applied to that starting point for the high-end nature of the breach – the sheer number of strikes and, in particular, the fact that his mount was out of contention. Mr Murray’s whip use was not attractive and was, frankly, inexcusable. The Committee noted that Mr Murray’s mount beat only one other of the 14 runners home. We fix the uplift at $100.
The sole mitigating factor is Mr Murray’s admission of the breach. However, that factor is unexceptional and no discount is given for it.
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: 91d0ba42b7e01c5cdbd4b891306caff1
informantnumber: A1942
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 19/03/2018
hearing_title: Ashburton RC 15 March 2018 - R 7 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, NZB Insurance Pearl Series Race, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J M McLaughlin, against Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B), Mr B M Murray, alleging that Mr Murray, as the rider of RUBYMOON in the race, “used his whip on his mount RUBYMOON excessively prior to the 100 metres”.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information, assisted by Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr D M Walsh. He indicated that he understood the charge and that he admitted the breach.
Rule 638 provides as follows:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(ii) excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide as follows:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached. Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.
Mr McLaughlin pointed out Mr Murray’s mount on a video replay in second-to-last position in the 14-horse field as the field turned into the home straight. Shortly thereafter, Mr Murray drew his whip. There was never a five-stride respite in the ten strikes of the whip by Mr Murray to just inside the 200 metres. Mr Murray then put his whip away.
Mr McLaughlin described Mr Murray’s actions as “dumb”. His mount was not running on or improving its position, but Mr Murray continued to use the whip and never pushed for the required five strides. He assessed the breach as mid-range. The whip use was unnecessary as well as excessive, Mr McLaughlin submitted. It was difficult to know what was going through Mr Murray’s mind, he said. The only pleasing thing was that he had stopped and not continued using his whip to the line.
Mr Murray explained that the trainer had told him that the horse had been “cheating” in its last four starts so, if the horse was “going no good”, to keep it up to its work. He wanted to see if he could keep the horse going to the line.
Mr Walsh agreed with an observation by the Committee that the trainer’s instructions were only a guide to be followed, if possible. A rider has to be prepared to change plans if necessary. Mr Murray had taken the trainer’s instructions literally and had completely overlooked the requirements of the Rule.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McLaughlin informed the Committee that Mr Murray’s record shows a breach of the Rule at Invercargill on 11 March 2018 for which breach he received a $300 fine. That breach involved 10 times prior to the 100 metres with only a two-stride respite, he said. Mr McLaughlin said that this breach “annoyed” him. It can be dealt with by a fine, but there should be an uplift from the $500 starting point because the breach was “bordering on dumb”, he submitted.
Mr Walsh said that the breach was “pretty clear-cut” and there was not a lot that could be said in Mr Murray’s defence.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the Penalty Guide starting point for a second breach of the Rule of a $500 fine. We agree with Mr McLaughlin that there should be an uplift applied to that starting point for the high-end nature of the breach – the sheer number of strikes and, in particular, the fact that his mount was out of contention. Mr Murray’s whip use was not attractive and was, frankly, inexcusable. The Committee noted that Mr Murray’s mount beat only one other of the 14 runners home. We fix the uplift at $100.
The sole mitigating factor is Mr Murray’s admission of the breach. However, that factor is unexceptional and no discount is given for it.
penalty:
Mr Murray is fined the sum of $600.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: J M McLaughlin, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: B M Murray, Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B)
Otherperson: Mr D M Walsh - Apprentice Jockey Mentor
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 40f399b52fb73d81ab3839cf7f374488
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
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race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
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meetid: 9ae33b2bc6cead14edaf51f0058016d1
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meetdate: 15/03/2018
meet_title: Ashburton RC - 15 March 2018
meet_expappcomment:
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tracklocation: ashburton-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
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name: Ashburton RC