Banks Peninsula TC 29 December 2020 – R 1 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA11026
Meet Title:
Banks Peninsula TC - 29 December 2020
Meet Chair:
SChing
Race Date:
2020/12/29
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
As Mr Clark had admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Clark is suspended from the conclusion of racing 29 December 2020 up to and including 20 April 2021.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Thank You-Jim & Susan Wakefield Trot, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr V Munro against Open Driver, Mr A Clark, alleging a breach of Rule 868(2) in that he failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures between the 1400m to the 800m after breaking and losing ground at the start.
Rule 868(2) reads as follows:
“Every horseman shall take all reasonable and permissible measures at all times during the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win the race or to obtain the best possible position and/or finishing place.”
Mr Clark had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Munro gave evidence and showed the relevant video replays, with the assistance of General Manager of Stewards, Mr N McIntyre. Mr McIntyre pointed out Mr Clark driving NIGHT WATCH drawn barrier 2 on the front line. He said that when the start was declared NIGHT WATCH did trot away but when the horses rushed past NIGHT WATCH, the horse panicked and went into a break. The horse eventually settled back into a trot when in last position and a considerable distance form the lead horse. Mr McIntyre estimated that NIGHT WATCH was 80 to 100m behind the lead horse at the post with a round to go. He showed on the films that from the 1800m to the 1400m, Mr Clark was chasing the horse up, in an attempt to get onto the back of the field. Mr McIntyre stated that NIGHT WATCH latched onto the back of the field near the 1400m and shortly afterwards Mr Clark commenced a shift out to a 3-wide position down the back straight in order to improve forward on the outside of the field. He said Stewards believed it was both reasonable and permissible at this stage, after Mr Clark had done so much work to catch the back of the field, to expect him to give the horse some respite before attempting to improve again.
Mr McIntyre continued showing the video and pointed out that approaching the 800m, NIGHT WATCH when still racing in a 3-wide position and still attempting to improve, commenced to give ground, eventually finishing in last place. Mr McIntyre in conclusion reiterated that it was reasonable and permissible for Mr Clark to give his horse some respite from the 1400m after missing away and losing considerable ground and then having to chase the field.
Mr Clark stated that NIGHT WATCH did miss away and was slow over the initial stages. He said he felt that the filly did not have to work hard to catch the field as he did not believe they were going that quickly. Mr Clark stated that when the filly did latch on to the field, she threw her head in the air. He explained the filly was an inexperienced 2-year-old and although she had been to the trials and workouts, she had never raced in a big field. Mr Clark stated that he decided that rather than have her fight him and pull hard; he would let her roll forward in the 3 wide position. He stated he still believed the pace was not strong down the back straight. Mr Clark said that he realised at the 800m that the filly was not as fit as he thought she was. He thought that due to the recent rain and wet weather, she may not have had as much hard work as she needed. He added that once the filly started giving ground, he stopped driving her forward and let her drift back. He conceded that the decision to go forward 3 wide from the 1400m may not have been wise but thought that he would continue on with the momentum the filly had in catching the field.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Munro stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a starting point of a 20-drive suspension or a $1,000 fine for a breach of this Rule and submitted that a suspension be considered as penalty in this case. Mr Clark, he said, has had lifetime drives of 631, last season 19 drives and to date this season 11. He stated that Mr Clark drives his own horses and that without Covid may drive on 25 to 30 occasions in a season.
Mr Clark stated that he has two horses in work, a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old and tends to drive a lot more once the 2-year-old racing starts. He said the 3-year-old would be racing every 2 weeks with total drives for the rest of the season being possibly 5 to 6 per month.
Deferment was discussed with Mr Clark with him opting to take any suspension immediately.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 20-drive suspension or a $1,000 fine for a mid-range breach of this Rule. The Committee determined that this breach was mid-range and accordingly adopted the 20-drive starting point. The Committee found no aggravating factors to consider therefore no uplift in penalty warranted.
There were however mitigating factors to consider being Mr Clark’s good record, his frank admission of the breach and the candid manner in which he conducted himself at the hearing. The Committee determined that a combined discount for these factors was warranted. This discount we set at 4 drives. The Committee therefore determined that a 16-drive suspension was an appropriate penalty. Taking into consideration Mr Munro’s submissions on drives that Mr Clark would normally have in conjunction with the number submitted by Mr Clark, the Committee decided that 4 drives per month or 1 driver per week would be a fair number of drives to use in assessing penalty. The Committee therefore determined that a 16-week suspension an appropriate penalty in this case.
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: 1a39f90e240c2a0f1ad68f9bef874062
informantnumber: A13287
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to take and reasonable and permissible measures to ensure horse given full opportunity
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 31/12/2020
hearing_title: Banks Peninsula TC 29 December 2020 - R 1 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 1, the Thank You-Jim & Susan Wakefield Trot, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr V Munro against Open Driver, Mr A Clark, alleging a breach of Rule 868(2) in that he failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures between the 1400m to the 800m after breaking and losing ground at the start.
Rule 868(2) reads as follows:
“Every horseman shall take all reasonable and permissible measures at all times during the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win the race or to obtain the best possible position and/or finishing place.”
Mr Clark had indicated on the Information that this breach of the Rules was admitted which he confirmed at the hearing. He also agreed that he understood the charge and the Rule it was brought under.
Mr Munro gave evidence and showed the relevant video replays, with the assistance of General Manager of Stewards, Mr N McIntyre. Mr McIntyre pointed out Mr Clark driving NIGHT WATCH drawn barrier 2 on the front line. He said that when the start was declared NIGHT WATCH did trot away but when the horses rushed past NIGHT WATCH, the horse panicked and went into a break. The horse eventually settled back into a trot when in last position and a considerable distance form the lead horse. Mr McIntyre estimated that NIGHT WATCH was 80 to 100m behind the lead horse at the post with a round to go. He showed on the films that from the 1800m to the 1400m, Mr Clark was chasing the horse up, in an attempt to get onto the back of the field. Mr McIntyre stated that NIGHT WATCH latched onto the back of the field near the 1400m and shortly afterwards Mr Clark commenced a shift out to a 3-wide position down the back straight in order to improve forward on the outside of the field. He said Stewards believed it was both reasonable and permissible at this stage, after Mr Clark had done so much work to catch the back of the field, to expect him to give the horse some respite before attempting to improve again.
Mr McIntyre continued showing the video and pointed out that approaching the 800m, NIGHT WATCH when still racing in a 3-wide position and still attempting to improve, commenced to give ground, eventually finishing in last place. Mr McIntyre in conclusion reiterated that it was reasonable and permissible for Mr Clark to give his horse some respite from the 1400m after missing away and losing considerable ground and then having to chase the field.
Mr Clark stated that NIGHT WATCH did miss away and was slow over the initial stages. He said he felt that the filly did not have to work hard to catch the field as he did not believe they were going that quickly. Mr Clark stated that when the filly did latch on to the field, she threw her head in the air. He explained the filly was an inexperienced 2-year-old and although she had been to the trials and workouts, she had never raced in a big field. Mr Clark stated that he decided that rather than have her fight him and pull hard; he would let her roll forward in the 3 wide position. He stated he still believed the pace was not strong down the back straight. Mr Clark said that he realised at the 800m that the filly was not as fit as he thought she was. He thought that due to the recent rain and wet weather, she may not have had as much hard work as she needed. He added that once the filly started giving ground, he stopped driving her forward and let her drift back. He conceded that the decision to go forward 3 wide from the 1400m may not have been wise but thought that he would continue on with the momentum the filly had in catching the field.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Clark had admitted the breach the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Munro stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a starting point of a 20-drive suspension or a $1,000 fine for a breach of this Rule and submitted that a suspension be considered as penalty in this case. Mr Clark, he said, has had lifetime drives of 631, last season 19 drives and to date this season 11. He stated that Mr Clark drives his own horses and that without Covid may drive on 25 to 30 occasions in a season.
Mr Clark stated that he has two horses in work, a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old and tends to drive a lot more once the 2-year-old racing starts. He said the 3-year-old would be racing every 2 weeks with total drives for the rest of the season being possibly 5 to 6 per month.
Deferment was discussed with Mr Clark with him opting to take any suspension immediately.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a 20-drive suspension or a $1,000 fine for a mid-range breach of this Rule. The Committee determined that this breach was mid-range and accordingly adopted the 20-drive starting point. The Committee found no aggravating factors to consider therefore no uplift in penalty warranted.
There were however mitigating factors to consider being Mr Clark’s good record, his frank admission of the breach and the candid manner in which he conducted himself at the hearing. The Committee determined that a combined discount for these factors was warranted. This discount we set at 4 drives. The Committee therefore determined that a 16-drive suspension was an appropriate penalty. Taking into consideration Mr Munro’s submissions on drives that Mr Clark would normally have in conjunction with the number submitted by Mr Clark, the Committee decided that 4 drives per month or 1 driver per week would be a fair number of drives to use in assessing penalty. The Committee therefore determined that a 16-week suspension an appropriate penalty in this case.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Clark is suspended from the conclusion of racing 29 December 2020 up to and including 20 April 2021.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 868(2)
Informant: Mr V Munro - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr A Clark - Open Driver
Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - Chairman of Stewards
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8ba97760e8b5cb57466278417868c93b
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race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
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meetdate: 29/12/2020
meet_title: Banks Peninsula TC - 29 December 2020
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tracklocation: banks-peninsula-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: SChing
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name: Banks Peninsula TC