Auckland TC 13 October 2017 – R 10 – Chair, Mr B Scott
ID: JCA12629
Meet Title:
Auckland TC - 13 October 2017
Meet Chair:
BScott
Meet Committee Member 1:
GJones
Race Date:
2017/10/13
Race Number:
R10
Decision:
The Committee finds that charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee orders that Mr Brosnan's Drivers Licence be suspended from the conclusion of racing tonight up to the conclusion of racing on the 17th of November 2017. That is 3 driving nights at Alexandra Park being the 27th of October , the 3rd of November and the 17th of November.
Facts:
Following the running of the AIR VANUATU HANDICAP TROT, an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr RJ Brosnan alleging that Mr Brosnan as the Driver of SUNNY PEGASUS drove carelessly causing interference to STOW (Driver Mr D Ferguson) with approximately 40 metres to run.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Brosnan was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the Rule and he did not admit the breach.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where early in the run home CAITLIN'S SURPRISE (Driver D Balle) was in the lead and it continued there until the finish of the race. It drifted out prior to the passing lane.
He said that Mr Brosnan was one out around the bend but then became 3 wide in the straight behind Mr Balle.
He then pointed out where Mr Brosnan at about the 40 metres mark moved inwards looking to improve his position. In doing so his offside sulky wheel came into contact with nearside legs of STOW and caused that horse to break .
He said Mr Brosnan attempted to pull away but it was too late and the interference had already happened.
He said it was a straightforward case of careless driving and that by his movement Mr Brosnan had caused STOW to run out of room and break as a result of the contact.
Mr Brosnan by way of cross examination asked Mr Muirhead if Mr Balle's horse had stayed in a straight line to the finish. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Balle's horse had moved about a bit but it was well clear of Mr Brosnan's horse.
Mr Muirhead was then asked what happened when Mr Balle struck his horse with the whip. He said that it had run outwards slightly.
Mr Muirhead then called Mr D Ferguson the driver of STOW to give evidence. He said that about 40 metres from the finish his horse broke and galloped as a result of contact. He said that at the time there was movement from the inside and the outside horses.
In answer to a question from the Committee he said that the contact came from the horse on his outside (the near side). The Committee observed that that horse was SUNNY PEGASUS.
Mr Brosnan then gave evidence and said that close to the finish he ran up alongside STOW and was passing that horse. He said that the gap in front of him closed and STOW hit his wheel and broke. He said that the gap closed because of the movement by Mr Balle's horse. He said that in his view the movement of Mr Balle's horse was a contributing factor in the incident.
When questioned by the Committee Mr Brosnan said that in real time it looked as though Mr Balle's horse was moving out and he thought he had enough room on the inside of him. He did acknowledge to the Committee that in " getting out of there" he interfered with the other horse.
In answer to a further question from the Committee Mr Brosnan said that his horses front legs were inside Mr Balle's sulky wheel and he said again that by its movement under pressure Mr Balle's horse had contributed to the incident.
Mr Brosnan in answer to questions from Mr Muirhead said that it looked like Mr Balle's horse was drifting out. He said that he didn't deny making contact but he said there were contributing factors.
In answer to a further question from the Committee Mr Brosnan said that the basis of his defending the charge was the contribution from Mr Balle's horse.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Muirhead submitted that this was a straightforward case of interference and as such Mr Brosnan had breached the Rule.
Mr Brosnan pointed to the contribution from Mr Balle's horse.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee listened to the parties and viewed the race films several times. We also had the benefit of films taken from different angles. The films are very clear and showed Mr Brosnan moving into a gap that was not sufficiently wide enough. The films showed that as a result of the inwards movement by Mr Brosnan contact was made with the legs of STOW and caused that horse to break. The films show the interference very clearly.
Mr Brosnan in his evidence said that when he moved forwards his horse's front legs were inside the sulky wheel of Mr Balle's horse. This is not supported by the films . The Committee is firmly of the view that neither Mr Balle nor his horse contributed to the incident.
The Committee's view is that Mr Brosnan has gone for a gap that wasn't wide enough and in doing so he has caused the interference.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guidelines which provide starting point penalties of either a suspension of Licence for 10 drives or a $500 fine. He said that Mr Brosnan had a clear record under this Rule and he should be given credit for that.
He also said that the incident was in the mid range of seriousness and he said that the Stewards would be happy with a fine as the penalty.
Mr Brosnan said that he would prefer a suspension of Licence and that the suspension could start straight away. He said he only drives at Alexandra Park.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee refers to its reasons above for its decision. This is a straightforward case of interference.
The Committee is happy to deal with this by ordering a suspension of Mr Brosnan's Licence. We estimate that he generally has 2 drives per night although that sometimes is 3. By way of credit for Mr Brosnan's good record we are going to give him credit for 3 drives a night.
We have taken the starting point penalty in the JCA Guidelines and believe that a 3 night suspension will mean a penalty of 7 or 8 drives.
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: 41741b8384379b26c3dc09d413b5130e
informantnumber: A9135
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 17/10/2017
hearing_title: Auckland TC 13 October 2017 - R 10 - Chair, Mr B Scott
charge:
facts:
Following the running of the AIR VANUATU HANDICAP TROT, an Information was lodged by Senior Stipendiary Steward, Mr JM Muirhead against Licensed Open Horseman, Mr RJ Brosnan alleging that Mr Brosnan as the Driver of SUNNY PEGASUS drove carelessly causing interference to STOW (Driver Mr D Ferguson) with approximately 40 metres to run.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Brosnan was present at the hearing and acknowledged that he understood the Rule and he did not admit the breach.
Mr Muirhead demonstrated the incident by use of the race films and showed where early in the run home CAITLIN'S SURPRISE (Driver D Balle) was in the lead and it continued there until the finish of the race. It drifted out prior to the passing lane.
He said that Mr Brosnan was one out around the bend but then became 3 wide in the straight behind Mr Balle.
He then pointed out where Mr Brosnan at about the 40 metres mark moved inwards looking to improve his position. In doing so his offside sulky wheel came into contact with nearside legs of STOW and caused that horse to break .
He said Mr Brosnan attempted to pull away but it was too late and the interference had already happened.
He said it was a straightforward case of careless driving and that by his movement Mr Brosnan had caused STOW to run out of room and break as a result of the contact.
Mr Brosnan by way of cross examination asked Mr Muirhead if Mr Balle's horse had stayed in a straight line to the finish. Mr Muirhead said that Mr Balle's horse had moved about a bit but it was well clear of Mr Brosnan's horse.
Mr Muirhead was then asked what happened when Mr Balle struck his horse with the whip. He said that it had run outwards slightly.
Mr Muirhead then called Mr D Ferguson the driver of STOW to give evidence. He said that about 40 metres from the finish his horse broke and galloped as a result of contact. He said that at the time there was movement from the inside and the outside horses.
In answer to a question from the Committee he said that the contact came from the horse on his outside (the near side). The Committee observed that that horse was SUNNY PEGASUS.
Mr Brosnan then gave evidence and said that close to the finish he ran up alongside STOW and was passing that horse. He said that the gap in front of him closed and STOW hit his wheel and broke. He said that the gap closed because of the movement by Mr Balle's horse. He said that in his view the movement of Mr Balle's horse was a contributing factor in the incident.
When questioned by the Committee Mr Brosnan said that in real time it looked as though Mr Balle's horse was moving out and he thought he had enough room on the inside of him. He did acknowledge to the Committee that in " getting out of there" he interfered with the other horse.
In answer to a further question from the Committee Mr Brosnan said that his horses front legs were inside Mr Balle's sulky wheel and he said again that by its movement under pressure Mr Balle's horse had contributed to the incident.
Mr Brosnan in answer to questions from Mr Muirhead said that it looked like Mr Balle's horse was drifting out. He said that he didn't deny making contact but he said there were contributing factors.
In answer to a further question from the Committee Mr Brosnan said that the basis of his defending the charge was the contribution from Mr Balle's horse.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Muirhead submitted that this was a straightforward case of interference and as such Mr Brosnan had breached the Rule.
Mr Brosnan pointed to the contribution from Mr Balle's horse.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee listened to the parties and viewed the race films several times. We also had the benefit of films taken from different angles. The films are very clear and showed Mr Brosnan moving into a gap that was not sufficiently wide enough. The films showed that as a result of the inwards movement by Mr Brosnan contact was made with the legs of STOW and caused that horse to break. The films show the interference very clearly.
Mr Brosnan in his evidence said that when he moved forwards his horse's front legs were inside the sulky wheel of Mr Balle's horse. This is not supported by the films . The Committee is firmly of the view that neither Mr Balle nor his horse contributed to the incident.
The Committee's view is that Mr Brosnan has gone for a gap that wasn't wide enough and in doing so he has caused the interference.
Decision:
The Committee finds that charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Muirhead referred to the JCA Penalty Guidelines which provide starting point penalties of either a suspension of Licence for 10 drives or a $500 fine. He said that Mr Brosnan had a clear record under this Rule and he should be given credit for that.
He also said that the incident was in the mid range of seriousness and he said that the Stewards would be happy with a fine as the penalty.
Mr Brosnan said that he would prefer a suspension of Licence and that the suspension could start straight away. He said he only drives at Alexandra Park.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee refers to its reasons above for its decision. This is a straightforward case of interference.
The Committee is happy to deal with this by ordering a suspension of Mr Brosnan's Licence. We estimate that he generally has 2 drives per night although that sometimes is 3. By way of credit for Mr Brosnan's good record we are going to give him credit for 3 drives a night.
We have taken the starting point penalty in the JCA Guidelines and believe that a 3 night suspension will mean a penalty of 7 or 8 drives.
penalty:
The Committee orders that Mr Brosnan's Drivers Licence be suspended from the conclusion of racing tonight up to the conclusion of racing on the 17th of November 2017. That is 3 driving nights at Alexandra Park being the 27th of October , the 3rd of November and the 17th of November.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr JM Muirhead - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Brosnan - Open Horseman
Otherperson: Mr D Ferguson - Junior Driver
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7a509202ad129e1444ad1f201457e127
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race_title: R10
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meetdate: 13/10/2017
meet_title: Auckland TC - 13 October 2017
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