Auckland RC 3 June 2019 – R 6 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA16116
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 3 June 2019
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2019/06/03
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
As Mr Downs admitted the breach the charge is proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Downs is fined the sum of $600.
Facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 6, the Dunstan Feeds Steeplechase. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class C rider Mr N Downs used his whip excessively when riding STORMING THE TOWER prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Downs acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
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.
Using available video footage Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones demonstrated the breach. He identified STORMING THE TOWER (N Downs) after jumping the last fence in the home straight. He said from that point to the 100-metre mark Mr Downs used his whip on at least 15 or 16 occasions without the required respite.
In response Mr Downs advised the Committee that his mount jumped poorly throughout the race and landed flat-footed after jumping the last fence. He said that he was struggling to adapt to the 5 on and 5 off requirement, which he said, differs from the rule in the UK, his home country. He added that he will need to learn fast because he recognised that, unless he does, he will keep getting fined.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Downs' record which showed one previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred 5 days previously at the Waikato RC meeting on 31 May 2019 and resulted in a $300 fine. He said that the number of strikes was well above the number permitted by the rule and if this breach had occurred in a flat race the breach would be deemed by Stewards as high end. He added that jumping riders have less riding opportunities; Mr Downs will need to make a greater effort to moderate his use of the whip in races. He submitted a fine in keeping with the JCA Guide would be appropriate.
In response Mr Downs submitted that his mount was a difficult horse to ride and his misjudged the 100 metre mark. He said that following his recent breach of the rule he commenced dialogue with Mr N Harris and is seeking guidance on improving his use of the whip.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. In assessing penalty animal welfare considerations were at the forefront of our thinking.
We reviewed the race film and confirmed that Mr Downs struck his mount 18 times with no discernible respite. It is also noteworthy that Mr Downs’ mount finished in second place.
We assessed the breach as high-range after taking into account the high number of strikes and the lack of respite. We were concerned that this was Mr Downs' second whip breach within a week. We treated these as aggravating factors.
There were no mitigating factors.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for a second admitted breach is a $500 fine.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers a fine of $600 is appropriate. This represents a $100 uplift from the $500 starting point and reflects the fact that at 18 strikes Mr Downs’ culpability is at the high end.
The Committee advised Mr Downs that a 3rd breach of this Rule within 12 months would result in a suspension.
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: beaab8241c33d20a72f4d79b92c706b5
informantnumber: A11517
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/06/2019
hearing_title: Auckland RC 3 June 2019 – R 6 - Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from the running of race 6, the Dunstan Feeds Steeplechase. An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) alleging that Class C rider Mr N Downs used his whip excessively when riding STORMING THE TOWER prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Downs acknowledged that he understood the nature of the charge and the relevant Rule. He confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides that a Rider shall not:
(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide:
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.
Using available video footage Stipendiary Steward Mr B Jones demonstrated the breach. He identified STORMING THE TOWER (N Downs) after jumping the last fence in the home straight. He said from that point to the 100-metre mark Mr Downs used his whip on at least 15 or 16 occasions without the required respite.
In response Mr Downs advised the Committee that his mount jumped poorly throughout the race and landed flat-footed after jumping the last fence. He said that he was struggling to adapt to the 5 on and 5 off requirement, which he said, differs from the rule in the UK, his home country. He added that he will need to learn fast because he recognised that, unless he does, he will keep getting fined.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Downs admitted the breach the charge is proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham produced Mr Downs' record which showed one previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred 5 days previously at the Waikato RC meeting on 31 May 2019 and resulted in a $300 fine. He said that the number of strikes was well above the number permitted by the rule and if this breach had occurred in a flat race the breach would be deemed by Stewards as high end. He added that jumping riders have less riding opportunities; Mr Downs will need to make a greater effort to moderate his use of the whip in races. He submitted a fine in keeping with the JCA Guide would be appropriate.
In response Mr Downs submitted that his mount was a difficult horse to ride and his misjudged the 100 metre mark. He said that following his recent breach of the rule he commenced dialogue with Mr N Harris and is seeking guidance on improving his use of the whip.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented. In assessing penalty animal welfare considerations were at the forefront of our thinking.
We reviewed the race film and confirmed that Mr Downs struck his mount 18 times with no discernible respite. It is also noteworthy that Mr Downs’ mount finished in second place.
We assessed the breach as high-range after taking into account the high number of strikes and the lack of respite. We were concerned that this was Mr Downs' second whip breach within a week. We treated these as aggravating factors.
There were no mitigating factors.
The JCA Penalty Guide establishes the starting point for a second admitted breach is a $500 fine.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considers a fine of $600 is appropriate. This represents a $100 uplift from the $500 starting point and reflects the fact that at 18 strikes Mr Downs’ culpability is at the high end.
The Committee advised Mr Downs that a 3rd breach of this Rule within 12 months would result in a suspension.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Downs is fined the sum of $600.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr N Downs – (Class D) Rider of STORMING THE TOWER
Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0552a4a04c842513847b2ba88ca7bbf1
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 4829d63f96e1438b74606363610868b4
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/06/2019
meet_title: Auckland RC - 3 June 2019
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