Auckland RC 15 December 2013 – R 4 (instigating a protest)
ID: JCA15380
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 15 December 2013
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2013/12/15
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
The protest is upheld and the amended placings are now:
1st No.10 SCHMEKEL
2nd No.9 ALTIUS
3rd No.3 ZABERTO
4th No.11 BORN HAPPY
We order the payment of stakes and dividends in accordance with the amended placings.
Facts:
This is a protest instigated by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham, following the running of race 4, the MORE FM 1200. The basis of the protest is that ALTIUS, horse number 9 placed 1st by the judge interfered with the chances of SCHMEKEL, horse number 10 placed 2nd by the judge in the final straight.
The Judge's placing were (provisionally) as follows:
1st No.9 ALTIUS
2nd No.10 SCHMEKEL
3rd No.3 ZABERTO
4th No.11 BORN HAPPY
The official margin between 1st and 2nd was ½ a length.
Before the hearing commenced Stewards advised the Judicial Committee (the “Committee”) that Trackside sought permission to film proceedings. The trainers and jockeys involved in the hearing objected stating they did not wish to be filmed. No objections were raised by Stewards and no Trackside representative was present. The Committee was mindful of the need for the protest to be heard immediately due to time constraints. Consequently there was limited time available for any protracted submissions to be lodged and considered on the relative merits of filming the hearing. Accordingly, the Committee ruled that no cameras would be permitted in the room.
Mr Oatham read the relevant rule to all parties present. Rule 642(1) provides that:
“If a placed horse or its rider causes interference within the meaning of this rule 642 to another placed horse, and the Judicial Committee is of the opinion that the horse so interfered with would have finished ahead of the first mentioned horse had such interference not occurred, they may place the first mentioned horse immediately after the horse interfered with”.
Submissions for Decision:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Williamson demonstrated the alleged breach using available film. He identified each of the horses involved, ALTIUS (C DELL) and SCHMEKEL (D Johnson) and the relative positions of each horse from the straight entrance.
Mr Williamson submitted ALTIUS shifted ground outwards quite abruptly from about the 300 metre mark. He said ALTIUS impeded SCHMEKEL at about the 150 metre mark, and after making contact continued to impede SCHMEKEL to the finish. Mr Williamson said Miss Johnson was required to take hold of her mount and became unbalanced over the concluding 50 metres. Using rear view film Mr Williamson said he estimated ALTIUS shifted out 5 to 7 horse widths from the point of contact.
Miss Johnson submitted that ALTIUS made contact with her mount and continued to dictate her line. She said that the rules of racing prohibit a rider from taking another's line and she felt that the interference to her mount cost it the winning of the race.
Mr Otto submitted that he had nothing further to add.
Mr Dell submitted that his horse was having its first race day start and it was green. He said following the first point of contact between ALTIUS and SCHMEKEL, Miss Johnson continued to ride with vigour then she sat up at about the 50 metre mark which made the contact between the two horses look worse than what it actually was.
Mr Cole submitted there were two main points the Committee should consider. First, at any point was SCHMEKEL ever going to win the race, and second ALTIUS never moved off the mowing strip at the point of contact with SCHMEKEL. He further submitted that Miss Johnson "did a Hollywood" when standing up in the saddle near the finish.
In response to a question from the Committee all connections agreed that contact between the two horses occurred 6 or 7 strides from the finish.
In summing up Mr Oatham submitted that Miss Johnson was taken off her rightful running line and was shifted out at least 4 to 5 horse-widths. He said due to the contact Miss Johnson was unable to ride her mount out fully over the final 6 or 7 strides and it was relevant that SCHMEKEL had made up 4 to 5 lengths quite rapidly prior to the interference. He said it was the Stewards' view that the incident cost SCHMEKEL more ground that the half length margin between the horses at the finish.
In summing up Mr Otto reinforced comments previously made by Miss Johnson. He said his horse was finding the line in good style before being impeded and unbalanced. SCHMEKEL had made up 4 or 5 lengths on ALTIUS before Miss Johnson had to take hold of it.
In summing up Mr Cole submitted the Committee needed to consider whether or not SCHMEKEL was ever going to beat ALTIUS.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee carefully considered each parties' submissions and also viewed the available video footage several times. The Committee's assessment is that from the 300 metre mark in the home straight ALTIUS, who was racing greenly, drifted outwards across the face of the field at least 6 or 7 horse-widths to the 175 metre mark. As a result ALTIUS inconvenienced at least two runners to this point. At about the 150 metre mark ALTIUS continued to drift outward and took the rightful running line of SCHMEKEL. Contact was made between ALTIUS and SCHMEKEL 6 or 7 strides from the finish and ALTIUS continued to dictate SCHMEKEL over the concluding stages.
It is clear that the contact did impede and interfere with the progress of SCHMEKEL who was finishing the race off strongly and as a result lost momentum. SCHMEKEL who was mounting its run on the outer would have quite rightly anticipated an otherwise unimpeded run to the finish.
The Committee believes it is significant that at the 300 metre mark, SCHMEKEL was about 3 to 4 lengths behind ALTIUS, but by the 150 metre mark when its progress was about to be hampered the gap between both horses reduced to less than half a length. There was also no indication at this point that SCHMEKEL had come to the end of its run. On that basis the Committee believes, but for the loss of momentum and having been dictated to by ALTIUS, SCHMEKEL would have continued to finish the race off strongly. It is noted that Miss Johnson stood up close to the line, but this was not a determinant factor in our decision.
The Committee is therefore satisfied that had the interference not occurred, taking into account the margin and the manner in which SCHMEKEL was finishing off the race, it would have beaten ALTIUS.
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: 8b90512c0943160c415c85e683683ce3
informantnumber: A2932
horsename: ALTIMUS
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: 17/12/2013
hearing_title: Auckland RC 15 December 2013 - R 4 (instigating a protest)
charge:
facts:
This is a protest instigated by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham, following the running of race 4, the MORE FM 1200. The basis of the protest is that ALTIUS, horse number 9 placed 1st by the judge interfered with the chances of SCHMEKEL, horse number 10 placed 2nd by the judge in the final straight.
The Judge's placing were (provisionally) as follows:
1st No.9 ALTIUS
2nd No.10 SCHMEKEL
3rd No.3 ZABERTO
4th No.11 BORN HAPPY
The official margin between 1st and 2nd was ½ a length.
Before the hearing commenced Stewards advised the Judicial Committee (the “Committee”) that Trackside sought permission to film proceedings. The trainers and jockeys involved in the hearing objected stating they did not wish to be filmed. No objections were raised by Stewards and no Trackside representative was present. The Committee was mindful of the need for the protest to be heard immediately due to time constraints. Consequently there was limited time available for any protracted submissions to be lodged and considered on the relative merits of filming the hearing. Accordingly, the Committee ruled that no cameras would be permitted in the room.
Mr Oatham read the relevant rule to all parties present. Rule 642(1) provides that:
“If a placed horse or its rider causes interference within the meaning of this rule 642 to another placed horse, and the Judicial Committee is of the opinion that the horse so interfered with would have finished ahead of the first mentioned horse had such interference not occurred, they may place the first mentioned horse immediately after the horse interfered with”.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Stipendiary Steward Mr Williamson demonstrated the alleged breach using available film. He identified each of the horses involved, ALTIUS (C DELL) and SCHMEKEL (D Johnson) and the relative positions of each horse from the straight entrance.
Mr Williamson submitted ALTIUS shifted ground outwards quite abruptly from about the 300 metre mark. He said ALTIUS impeded SCHMEKEL at about the 150 metre mark, and after making contact continued to impede SCHMEKEL to the finish. Mr Williamson said Miss Johnson was required to take hold of her mount and became unbalanced over the concluding 50 metres. Using rear view film Mr Williamson said he estimated ALTIUS shifted out 5 to 7 horse widths from the point of contact.
Miss Johnson submitted that ALTIUS made contact with her mount and continued to dictate her line. She said that the rules of racing prohibit a rider from taking another's line and she felt that the interference to her mount cost it the winning of the race.
Mr Otto submitted that he had nothing further to add.
Mr Dell submitted that his horse was having its first race day start and it was green. He said following the first point of contact between ALTIUS and SCHMEKEL, Miss Johnson continued to ride with vigour then she sat up at about the 50 metre mark which made the contact between the two horses look worse than what it actually was.
Mr Cole submitted there were two main points the Committee should consider. First, at any point was SCHMEKEL ever going to win the race, and second ALTIUS never moved off the mowing strip at the point of contact with SCHMEKEL. He further submitted that Miss Johnson "did a Hollywood" when standing up in the saddle near the finish.
In response to a question from the Committee all connections agreed that contact between the two horses occurred 6 or 7 strides from the finish.
In summing up Mr Oatham submitted that Miss Johnson was taken off her rightful running line and was shifted out at least 4 to 5 horse-widths. He said due to the contact Miss Johnson was unable to ride her mount out fully over the final 6 or 7 strides and it was relevant that SCHMEKEL had made up 4 to 5 lengths quite rapidly prior to the interference. He said it was the Stewards' view that the incident cost SCHMEKEL more ground that the half length margin between the horses at the finish.
In summing up Mr Otto reinforced comments previously made by Miss Johnson. He said his horse was finding the line in good style before being impeded and unbalanced. SCHMEKEL had made up 4 or 5 lengths on ALTIUS before Miss Johnson had to take hold of it.
In summing up Mr Cole submitted the Committee needed to consider whether or not SCHMEKEL was ever going to beat ALTIUS.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee carefully considered each parties' submissions and also viewed the available video footage several times. The Committee's assessment is that from the 300 metre mark in the home straight ALTIUS, who was racing greenly, drifted outwards across the face of the field at least 6 or 7 horse-widths to the 175 metre mark. As a result ALTIUS inconvenienced at least two runners to this point. At about the 150 metre mark ALTIUS continued to drift outward and took the rightful running line of SCHMEKEL. Contact was made between ALTIUS and SCHMEKEL 6 or 7 strides from the finish and ALTIUS continued to dictate SCHMEKEL over the concluding stages.
It is clear that the contact did impede and interfere with the progress of SCHMEKEL who was finishing the race off strongly and as a result lost momentum. SCHMEKEL who was mounting its run on the outer would have quite rightly anticipated an otherwise unimpeded run to the finish.
The Committee believes it is significant that at the 300 metre mark, SCHMEKEL was about 3 to 4 lengths behind ALTIUS, but by the 150 metre mark when its progress was about to be hampered the gap between both horses reduced to less than half a length. There was also no indication at this point that SCHMEKEL had come to the end of its run. On that basis the Committee believes, but for the loss of momentum and having been dictated to by ALTIUS, SCHMEKEL would have continued to finish the race off strongly. It is noted that Miss Johnson stood up close to the line, but this was not a determinant factor in our decision.
The Committee is therefore satisfied that had the interference not occurred, taking into account the margin and the manner in which SCHMEKEL was finishing off the race, it would have beaten ALTIUS.
Decision:
The protest is upheld and the amended placings are now:
1st No.10 SCHMEKEL
2nd No.9 ALTIUS
3rd No.3 ZABERTO
4th No.11 BORN HAPPY
We order the payment of stakes and dividends in accordance with the amended placings.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Protest
Rules:
Informant: Mr J Oatham Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent: Mr C Dell - Rider of ALTIUS, Mr T Cole - Trainer of ALTIUS, Miss D Johnson - Rider of SCHMEKEL, Mr R Otto - Trainer of SCHMEKEL
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: e966cf085af38f3382568b06593aacb3
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: fcc8fa48722e6ed6d57ebfe13e2f5040
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 15/12/2013
meet_title: Auckland RC - 15 December 2013
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: auckland-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Auckland RC