Archive Decision

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Banks Peninsula TC 17 February 2012 – R 8 (request for a ruling)

ID: JCA11045

Stipend Steward:
Mr S W Wallis - Stipendiary Steward

Hearing Type:
Request Ruling

Rules:
213(1)(j) and 1112

Meet Title:
Banks Peninsula TC - 17 February 2012

Meet Chair:
JPhelan

Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie

Race Date:
2012/02/17

Race Number:
R 8

Decision:

It was ruled that 'Moncreiffe' be declared a runner in this race.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 8, the Premium NZ Trading Company Pace, an information Requesting a Ruling was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S. W. Wallis. This Request for a Ruling was made on behalf of Mr M. R. Ireland, the part owner of “Moncreiffe” (1), pursuant to Rule 213(1)(j) and related to whether or not this horse had been denied a fair start.

The Information reads as follows:

“I, the above named informant seek a ruling in relation to Rule 213(1)(j) from the Judicial Committee that Moncreiffe was denied a fair start due to the starter’s attendant hanging on to the sulky.”

Rule 213(1)(j) reads as follows:

“(1) A Stipendiary Steward at any time may scratch from a race or declare ineligible to start in a race until a specific condition is met any horse on all or any of the following grounds:-
(j) if a horse is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse.”

Submissions for Decision:

Mr Ireland gave evidence and used video coverage to show that “Moncreiffe” had drawn barrier one on the front line in this standing start race. Prior to the start “Moncreiffe” was being held on to by starter’s assistant Mr M. C. Ryan, and when the start was declared Mr Ryan had continued to hold the horse for a fraction of a second before releasing it. It was Mr Ireland’s case that Mr Ryan had no need to hold his horse, and that by doing so he had denied it a fair start. During the hearing Mr Ireland asked on several occasions why it was necessary for Mr Ryan to hold his horse.

Mr S. R. McNally, the driver of “Moncreiffe”, gave evidence that he was quite happy with the start he got, and didn’t believe his horse’s chances had been affected.

Starter Mr Lamb and his assistant Mr Ryan gave evidence that it was common for a horse drawn one on the front line in a standing start race to be attended to by a starter’s assistant. The reason for this was that a horse starting in this position needed to be straight so as not to affect the space available for horses drawn further out. On this occasion it could be seen that prior to the start when “Moncreiffe” was released by Mr Ryan it moved outwards, and had to be brought back into line.

Reasons for Decision:

We were satisfied that “Moncreiffe” was taken hold of by Mr Ryan to ensure that it did not cause problems for other starters on the front line. We were also satisfied that this procedure is quite normal in standing start races. We also note that Mr McNally was quite satisfied with the start his horse got. We reject Mr Ireland’s submission that there was no reason for Mr Ryan to hold on to his horse. We decided that we would rule that “"Moncreiffe" did receive a fair start.

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: 1a816a2ed392a4116ba9192f1c681a79


informantnumber:


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge:


plea:


penaltyrequired:


decisiondate: 14/02/2012


hearing_title: Banks Peninsula TC 17 February 2012 - R 8 (request for a ruling)


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 8, the Premium NZ Trading Company Pace, an information Requesting a Ruling was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S. W. Wallis. This Request for a Ruling was made on behalf of Mr M. R. Ireland, the part owner of “Moncreiffe” (1), pursuant to Rule 213(1)(j) and related to whether or not this horse had been denied a fair start.

The Information reads as follows:

“I, the above named informant seek a ruling in relation to Rule 213(1)(j) from the Judicial Committee that Moncreiffe was denied a fair start due to the starter’s attendant hanging on to the sulky.”

Rule 213(1)(j) reads as follows:

“(1) A Stipendiary Steward at any time may scratch from a race or declare ineligible to start in a race until a specific condition is met any horse on all or any of the following grounds:-
(j) if a horse is denied a fair start and such occurrence materially prejudiced the chances of that horse.”


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:

Mr Ireland gave evidence and used video coverage to show that “Moncreiffe” had drawn barrier one on the front line in this standing start race. Prior to the start “Moncreiffe” was being held on to by starter’s assistant Mr M. C. Ryan, and when the start was declared Mr Ryan had continued to hold the horse for a fraction of a second before releasing it. It was Mr Ireland’s case that Mr Ryan had no need to hold his horse, and that by doing so he had denied it a fair start. During the hearing Mr Ireland asked on several occasions why it was necessary for Mr Ryan to hold his horse.

Mr S. R. McNally, the driver of “Moncreiffe”, gave evidence that he was quite happy with the start he got, and didn’t believe his horse’s chances had been affected.

Starter Mr Lamb and his assistant Mr Ryan gave evidence that it was common for a horse drawn one on the front line in a standing start race to be attended to by a starter’s assistant. The reason for this was that a horse starting in this position needed to be straight so as not to affect the space available for horses drawn further out. On this occasion it could be seen that prior to the start when “Moncreiffe” was released by Mr Ryan it moved outwards, and had to be brought back into line.


reasonsfordecision:

We were satisfied that “Moncreiffe” was taken hold of by Mr Ryan to ensure that it did not cause problems for other starters on the front line. We were also satisfied that this procedure is quite normal in standing start races. We also note that Mr McNally was quite satisfied with the start his horse got. We reject Mr Ireland’s submission that there was no reason for Mr Ryan to hold on to his horse. We decided that we would rule that “"Moncreiffe" did receive a fair start.


Decision:

It was ruled that 'Moncreiffe' be declared a runner in this race.


sumissionsforpenalty:


reasonsforpenalty:


penalty:


hearing_type: Request Ruling


Rules: 213(1)(j) and 1112


Informant:


JockeysandTrainer:


Otherperson:


PersonPresent: Mr M R Ireland - Part Owner of MONCREIFFE, Mr S R McNally - Driver of MONCREIFFE, Mr P R Lamb - Licensed Open Starter, Mr M C Ryan - Starter's Assistant


Respondent:


StipendSteward: Mr S W Wallis - Stipendiary Steward


raceid: 2315e84942ae5437532130735f661bb7


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 8


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: f06209090a40aff30c8000e3f0a4257e


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 17/02/2012


meet_title: Banks Peninsula TC - 17 February 2012


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: banks-peninsula-tc


meet_racingtype: harness-racing


meet_chair: JPhelan


meet_pm1: RMcKenzie


meet_pm2: none


name: Banks Peninsula TC