Auckland RC 9 September 2017 – R 8 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA10713
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Auckland RC - 9 September 2017
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2017/09/09
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As Mr Colgan admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Colgan had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 9 September and conclude after racing on 20 September 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
16 September – Whangarei
17 September – Rotorua
20 September – Te Rapa
(*refer to footnote).
* On the afternoon of 10 September 2017 it was brought to the attention of the Judicial Committee by the Informant, Mr Oatham that Mr Colgan was enquiring as to whether his dates of suspension could be amended to start after next Saturday 16 September and conclude after racing on Friday 22 September (3 days).
Mr Colgan advised that he was in his car driving home when contacted by the RIU and obviously he did not have an opportunity to analyse the Racing Calendar when spoken to.
Mr Oatham submitted that the RIU would normally have an objection to an amendment of dates once the penalty had been announced. However, given the unusual circumstances in this particular case the RIU had no objection to an amendment.
The JCA Policy is that if a rider is not satisfied with his or her penalty they have a right of an appeal which is filed with the JCA Executive Officer.
However, the Committee recognises that this charge does have some exceptional circumstances that are highly unlikely to be repeated. For that reason the Committee have exercised their discretion and granted an amendment to the penalty. In conclusion we must emphasise that this decision does not set any precedent for a rider’s suspension in the future.
AMENDMENT.
The Committee granted a deferment to Mr Colgan’s suspension as per Rule 1106(2).
Accordingly, Mr Colgan had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 16 September and conclude after racing on 22 September 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
17 September – Rotorua
20 September – Te Rapa
22 September – Taupo.
Facts:
Following the running of race 8, Tuckers Ridge Pies 2100, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Colgan used his whip excessively on EL LUCHADOR prior to the 100 metres.
The Information was filed with the Judicial Committee after race 10 and Mr Colgan was not present at the hearing. Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr Colgan consented for Mr Harris, Apprentice Jockey Mentor, to represent him at the hearing.
Mr Harris acknowledged that Mr Colgan understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Harris signed the Information on behalf of Mr Colgan.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: 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” provides:
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 Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Colgan and showed that from the 300 metres until the 100 metres Mr Colgan struck his mount 12 times. He said Mr Colgan failed to give his mount the required respite for 5 strides.
Mr Harris accepted that Mr Colgan struck his mount 12 times. He said the video footage showed that Mr Colgan stopped using his whip for 2 to 3 strides but not for the required 5 strides.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham said that Mr Colgan had 2 previous breaches of this Rule since 1 August 2017.
16 August - $300 fine
19 August - $600 fine
Mr Oatham said the JCA Penalty Guide recommends a 3 to 5 day suspension for a 3rd breach of this Rule. He said a small mitigating factor was the very testing track conditions. He said that Mr Colgan has yet to come to grips with the new whip guidelines. Mr Oatham submitted that a 2 to 3 day suspension would be appropriate.
Mr Harris said that he agreed with Mr Oatham’s submissions and in particular the very heavy track. He said the strikes would not have hurt the horse and he also acknowledged that Mr Colgan has no recent history of riding in the Central Districts on Industry days.
Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr Colgan advised him via mobile phone that his proposed suspension could start immediately.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA starting point for a 3rd breach of this Rule is a 3 to 5 day suspension. The Committee notes that Mr Colgan was advised of this fact when he breached the Rule on 19 August.
The clear aggravating fact was Mr Colgan’s recent record under this Rule.
The mitigating factors were Mr Colgan’s admission of the breach, albeit inevitable given the compelling video evidence. The Committee observed that the whip was not applied with aggression or undue force. It is important to note the expectation is that any mitigating matters unless exceptional are not to be addressed. For that reason, no reduction in penalty was applied.
The Committee had regard for the extremely heavy track conditions. However, we do not consider this fact warrants a reduction in penalty.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered that an appropriate penalty was a 3 day 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: 112f5da25cb1aeda7a88b70046e78abc
informantnumber: A10012
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 11/09/2017
hearing_title: Auckland RC 9 September 2017 - R 8 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 8, Tuckers Ridge Pies 2100, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Mr Colgan used his whip excessively on EL LUCHADOR prior to the 100 metres.
The Information was filed with the Judicial Committee after race 10 and Mr Colgan was not present at the hearing. Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr Colgan consented for Mr Harris, Apprentice Jockey Mentor, to represent him at the hearing.
Mr Harris acknowledged that Mr Colgan understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr Harris signed the Information on behalf of Mr Colgan.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: 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” provides:
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 Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Colgan and showed that from the 300 metres until the 100 metres Mr Colgan struck his mount 12 times. He said Mr Colgan failed to give his mount the required respite for 5 strides.
Mr Harris accepted that Mr Colgan struck his mount 12 times. He said the video footage showed that Mr Colgan stopped using his whip for 2 to 3 strides but not for the required 5 strides.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Colgan admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham said that Mr Colgan had 2 previous breaches of this Rule since 1 August 2017.
16 August - $300 fine
19 August - $600 fine
Mr Oatham said the JCA Penalty Guide recommends a 3 to 5 day suspension for a 3rd breach of this Rule. He said a small mitigating factor was the very testing track conditions. He said that Mr Colgan has yet to come to grips with the new whip guidelines. Mr Oatham submitted that a 2 to 3 day suspension would be appropriate.
Mr Harris said that he agreed with Mr Oatham’s submissions and in particular the very heavy track. He said the strikes would not have hurt the horse and he also acknowledged that Mr Colgan has no recent history of riding in the Central Districts on Industry days.
Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr Colgan advised him via mobile phone that his proposed suspension could start immediately.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA starting point for a 3rd breach of this Rule is a 3 to 5 day suspension. The Committee notes that Mr Colgan was advised of this fact when he breached the Rule on 19 August.
The clear aggravating fact was Mr Colgan’s recent record under this Rule.
The mitigating factors were Mr Colgan’s admission of the breach, albeit inevitable given the compelling video evidence. The Committee observed that the whip was not applied with aggression or undue force. It is important to note the expectation is that any mitigating matters unless exceptional are not to be addressed. For that reason, no reduction in penalty was applied.
The Committee had regard for the extremely heavy track conditions. However, we do not consider this fact warrants a reduction in penalty.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered that an appropriate penalty was a 3 day suspension.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Colgan had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 9 September and conclude after racing on 20 September 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
16 September – Whangarei
17 September – Rotorua
20 September – Te Rapa
(*refer to footnote).
* On the afternoon of 10 September 2017 it was brought to the attention of the Judicial Committee by the Informant, Mr Oatham that Mr Colgan was enquiring as to whether his dates of suspension could be amended to start after next Saturday 16 September and conclude after racing on Friday 22 September (3 days).
Mr Colgan advised that he was in his car driving home when contacted by the RIU and obviously he did not have an opportunity to analyse the Racing Calendar when spoken to.
Mr Oatham submitted that the RIU would normally have an objection to an amendment of dates once the penalty had been announced. However, given the unusual circumstances in this particular case the RIU had no objection to an amendment.
The JCA Policy is that if a rider is not satisfied with his or her penalty they have a right of an appeal which is filed with the JCA Executive Officer.
However, the Committee recognises that this charge does have some exceptional circumstances that are highly unlikely to be repeated. For that reason the Committee have exercised their discretion and granted an amendment to the penalty. In conclusion we must emphasise that this decision does not set any precedent for a rider’s suspension in the future.
AMENDMENT.
The Committee granted a deferment to Mr Colgan’s suspension as per Rule 1106(2).
Accordingly, Mr Colgan had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 16 September and conclude after racing on 22 September 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
17 September – Rotorua
20 September – Te Rapa
22 September – Taupo.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr V Colgan - Licensed Jockey
Otherperson: Mr N Harris - Apprentice Jockey Mentor -representing Mr Colgan, Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 16d772f41099b82fde5c20b3b1478891
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race_title: R8
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meetdate: 09/09/2017
meet_title: Auckland RC - 9 September 2017
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