Canterbury JC 6 September 2014 – R 6
ID: JCA11638
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury Racing - 6 September 2014
Meet Chair:
KHales
Meet Committee Member 1:
RMcKenzie
Race Date:
2014/09/06
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
The charge is found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Coetzee is suspended from race riding from the conclusion of racing on Saturday 6th September 2014 until the conclusion of racing on Saturday 4th October 2014. That period of suspension encompasses meetings at Ashburton on 12th, Gore on 18th, Canterbury Racing on 20th, Timaru on 22nd, Wingatui on 27th September and Canterbury Racing on 4th October 2014.
Facts:
As a result of the Stipendiary Stewards' observations of the ride of Mr G Coetzee, Licensed Jockey, in the Christchurch Casino Handicap, an information was lodged alleging as follows:
" In that G Coetzee failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures between the 400 metres and 100 metres to obtain the best possible finishing place when electing not to take the available run to the inside of firstly "Woodyeva" and secondly "Dr Dee Bee".
Prior to the hearing commencing, Mr Coetzee was provided with the Judicial Control Authority's "Guidelines for Raceday Judicial Hearings". He confirmed to the hearing that he was ready to proceed with the hearing on raceday.
Mr McLaughlin showed to the hearing the video coverage of what the Stipendiary Stewards were complaining of, from the rear on, side on and front on camera views. Mr Coetzee was the rider of "Pheasant". There were 7 horses in the field.
Mr Coetzee's mount was in last position at the 400 metres following "Woodyeva" (DM Walsh) which was racing two to three horse width's wide of the running rail and to the outside of "Dr Dee Bee" (T Direen), which was one off the rail. "Dr Dee Bee" was ahead of "Woodyeva". At this point, there was ample room on the inside of both of the horses in front of Mr Coetzee for him to improve. However, the video coverage also showed that Mr Coetzee had been following Mr Walsh's mount for some distance prior to the 400 metres mark. From the 400 metres however, he continued to follow Mr Walsh. What was of significance at this time was that the video coverage showed that Mr Coetzee remained "standing" in his stirrups whereas all other riders were down over the withers of their mounts and starting to show vigour. In Racing parlance, the other riders had put their mounts "under a ride" as the field, at that point, was in the main straight heading for the winning post. At about the 250 metres point, Mr Coetzee went down from his standing position for two to three strides, and then "stood up" in the stirrups. He was not demonstrating any vigour with arm action or using the whip. He remained standing until the 100 metres mark and from that point on he rode with some vigour, although without using his whip. He finished in 7th position in a field of 7.
In response, Mr Coetzee said that he always rides in a manner to get the best out of his mount. He said that on this occasion it was his intention to follow Mr Walsh and to take a run to the inside of him when the opportunity presented itself. In response to a question from the panel, he said that it was not his plan to wait until the 100 metres mark to go for an inside run. He said that he had to wait for horses in front to come off the rails before making his move. He said in response to a further question from the panel that it was not a question of him not noticing the gaps on the inside of "Dr Dee Bee", because his whole plan was to follow Mr Walsh and when Mr Walsh went wider, he had to take other action. He conceded that on reflection there was room on the inside, but in his words, "only for a few metres and not enough to get any momentum from his horse". Mr Coetzee was invited to comment on Mr McLaughlin's observation that he did not show any arm action until the 100 metres. He could not offer any real explanation for that. His explanation for not using his whip was that he had been called into the Stipendiary Stewards' room earlier in the day and spoken to about the manner he used his whip in an earlier race. He said he was conscious of this, and did not want to "climb into" in his mount with the whip. He said that his riding instructions were more or less "to save the best until last".
Submissions for Decision:
In summary, Mr McLaughlin said that it was the Stipendiary Stewards' view, that having regard to the way in which the horse finished when placed "under a ride" in the last 100 metres, that had more vigour been shown, and the available gaps taken, that it was not unreasonable to submit that "Pheasant" would have finished in a better position, at least 4th or perhaps better. At the finish there was only about 4 horse lengths covering the whole field. Clearly, in the Stipendiary Stewards' view, Mr Coetzee did not take all reasonable and permissible measures in terms of the rule.
Mr Coetzee had no submissions by way of summary.
Reasons for Decision:
Having regard to the rather compelling evidence from the video coverage, we find that at the material time, i.e., from the 400 metres mark to the 100 metres mark, that there was ample room to Mr Coetzee's inside for him to improve. At that time. "Dr Dee Bee" was well clear of the running rail and the fact of the matter is that there was a gap to be taken. That gap could easily have been taken using permissible measures, which in our view, would have given "Pheasant" the opportunity to win or obtain a better finishing place than it did. Mr Coetzee simply failed in his duty to take such reasonable and permissible measures. He rode in a standing position for much of the distance between the 400 and 100 metres marks, when all other riders had their mounts "under a ride". When he did show some vigour, from the 100 metres mark onwards, the horse made ground quite quickly on the horses in front of it, but to no avail. On that basis we are satisfied that Mr Coetzee failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures within the terms of the rule.
We record that during the hearing, there was discussion with regard to the horse's form line and its betting favouritism. Mr McLaughlin also said that the trainer of the horse was most disappointed in the way in which "Pheasant" had been ridden. For the record, we confirm that in reaching our decision, we have not placed any weight on such matters.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McLaughlin said that Mr Coetzee had a clean record in all respects, and also confirmed that Mr Coetzee is a South Island rider only. However, he felt that the matter was quite serious, and submitted that a suspension of 5 weeks should be imposed. He also said that Mr Coetzee did not get a lot rides, and that having 5 rides on the day, was a "good book" for Mr Coetzee.
Mr Coetzee said that he had been riding for 10 years, approximately 8 of which were in South Africa. He said that he had been riding for about 18 months in New Zealand. He accepted that it was inevitable that a suspension would be imposed. He did not request a deferment of the coming into effect of the period of disqualification.
Reasons for Penalty:
The starting point for penalty in the Judicial Control Authority's Penalty Guide for a breach of the rule in question, is a suspension of 6 riding weeks. Against that we are required to take into account, aggravating and mitigating factors.
In this case there are no aggravating factors which would warrant an uplift on the starting point.
By way of mitigating factors, we give Mr Coetzee credit for his good record, and also note that he is a South Island rider only and has only had limited riding opportunities. As a consequence of these mitigating factors, we allow Mr Coetzee a discount of two weeks on the starting point.
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: 210059446e59a623b39a201f906326a4
informantnumber: A5724
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 28/08/2014
hearing_title: Canterbury JC 6 September 2014 - R 6
charge:
facts:
As a result of the Stipendiary Stewards' observations of the ride of Mr G Coetzee, Licensed Jockey, in the Christchurch Casino Handicap, an information was lodged alleging as follows:
" In that G Coetzee failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures between the 400 metres and 100 metres to obtain the best possible finishing place when electing not to take the available run to the inside of firstly "Woodyeva" and secondly "Dr Dee Bee".
Prior to the hearing commencing, Mr Coetzee was provided with the Judicial Control Authority's "Guidelines for Raceday Judicial Hearings". He confirmed to the hearing that he was ready to proceed with the hearing on raceday.
Mr McLaughlin showed to the hearing the video coverage of what the Stipendiary Stewards were complaining of, from the rear on, side on and front on camera views. Mr Coetzee was the rider of "Pheasant". There were 7 horses in the field.
Mr Coetzee's mount was in last position at the 400 metres following "Woodyeva" (DM Walsh) which was racing two to three horse width's wide of the running rail and to the outside of "Dr Dee Bee" (T Direen), which was one off the rail. "Dr Dee Bee" was ahead of "Woodyeva". At this point, there was ample room on the inside of both of the horses in front of Mr Coetzee for him to improve. However, the video coverage also showed that Mr Coetzee had been following Mr Walsh's mount for some distance prior to the 400 metres mark. From the 400 metres however, he continued to follow Mr Walsh. What was of significance at this time was that the video coverage showed that Mr Coetzee remained "standing" in his stirrups whereas all other riders were down over the withers of their mounts and starting to show vigour. In Racing parlance, the other riders had put their mounts "under a ride" as the field, at that point, was in the main straight heading for the winning post. At about the 250 metres point, Mr Coetzee went down from his standing position for two to three strides, and then "stood up" in the stirrups. He was not demonstrating any vigour with arm action or using the whip. He remained standing until the 100 metres mark and from that point on he rode with some vigour, although without using his whip. He finished in 7th position in a field of 7.
In response, Mr Coetzee said that he always rides in a manner to get the best out of his mount. He said that on this occasion it was his intention to follow Mr Walsh and to take a run to the inside of him when the opportunity presented itself. In response to a question from the panel, he said that it was not his plan to wait until the 100 metres mark to go for an inside run. He said that he had to wait for horses in front to come off the rails before making his move. He said in response to a further question from the panel that it was not a question of him not noticing the gaps on the inside of "Dr Dee Bee", because his whole plan was to follow Mr Walsh and when Mr Walsh went wider, he had to take other action. He conceded that on reflection there was room on the inside, but in his words, "only for a few metres and not enough to get any momentum from his horse". Mr Coetzee was invited to comment on Mr McLaughlin's observation that he did not show any arm action until the 100 metres. He could not offer any real explanation for that. His explanation for not using his whip was that he had been called into the Stipendiary Stewards' room earlier in the day and spoken to about the manner he used his whip in an earlier race. He said he was conscious of this, and did not want to "climb into" in his mount with the whip. He said that his riding instructions were more or less "to save the best until last".
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
In summary, Mr McLaughlin said that it was the Stipendiary Stewards' view, that having regard to the way in which the horse finished when placed "under a ride" in the last 100 metres, that had more vigour been shown, and the available gaps taken, that it was not unreasonable to submit that "Pheasant" would have finished in a better position, at least 4th or perhaps better. At the finish there was only about 4 horse lengths covering the whole field. Clearly, in the Stipendiary Stewards' view, Mr Coetzee did not take all reasonable and permissible measures in terms of the rule.
Mr Coetzee had no submissions by way of summary.
reasonsfordecision:
Having regard to the rather compelling evidence from the video coverage, we find that at the material time, i.e., from the 400 metres mark to the 100 metres mark, that there was ample room to Mr Coetzee's inside for him to improve. At that time. "Dr Dee Bee" was well clear of the running rail and the fact of the matter is that there was a gap to be taken. That gap could easily have been taken using permissible measures, which in our view, would have given "Pheasant" the opportunity to win or obtain a better finishing place than it did. Mr Coetzee simply failed in his duty to take such reasonable and permissible measures. He rode in a standing position for much of the distance between the 400 and 100 metres marks, when all other riders had their mounts "under a ride". When he did show some vigour, from the 100 metres mark onwards, the horse made ground quite quickly on the horses in front of it, but to no avail. On that basis we are satisfied that Mr Coetzee failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures within the terms of the rule.
We record that during the hearing, there was discussion with regard to the horse's form line and its betting favouritism. Mr McLaughlin also said that the trainer of the horse was most disappointed in the way in which "Pheasant" had been ridden. For the record, we confirm that in reaching our decision, we have not placed any weight on such matters.
Decision:
The charge is found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McLaughlin said that Mr Coetzee had a clean record in all respects, and also confirmed that Mr Coetzee is a South Island rider only. However, he felt that the matter was quite serious, and submitted that a suspension of 5 weeks should be imposed. He also said that Mr Coetzee did not get a lot rides, and that having 5 rides on the day, was a "good book" for Mr Coetzee.
Mr Coetzee said that he had been riding for 10 years, approximately 8 of which were in South Africa. He said that he had been riding for about 18 months in New Zealand. He accepted that it was inevitable that a suspension would be imposed. He did not request a deferment of the coming into effect of the period of disqualification.
reasonsforpenalty:
The starting point for penalty in the Judicial Control Authority's Penalty Guide for a breach of the rule in question, is a suspension of 6 riding weeks. Against that we are required to take into account, aggravating and mitigating factors.
In this case there are no aggravating factors which would warrant an uplift on the starting point.
By way of mitigating factors, we give Mr Coetzee credit for his good record, and also note that he is a South Island rider only and has only had limited riding opportunities. As a consequence of these mitigating factors, we allow Mr Coetzee a discount of two weeks on the starting point.
penalty:
Mr Coetzee is suspended from race riding from the conclusion of racing on Saturday 6th September 2014 until the conclusion of racing on Saturday 4th October 2014. That period of suspension encompasses meetings at Ashburton on 12th, Gore on 18th, Canterbury Racing on 20th, Timaru on 22nd, Wingatui on 27th September and Canterbury Racing on 4th October 2014.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 636 (1) A person:, (b) Being the rider of a horse in a race must take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to ensure that his horse is given full opportunity to win the race or obtain the best possible finishing place
Informant: J McLaughlin - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: G Coetzee - Licensed Jockey
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: c735abd9f78ca860ba5091697c1dd478
race_expapproval:
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race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
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meetid: 0a4ca342b00e2a3e832ae14ed667cbea
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meetdate: 06/09/2014
meet_title: Canterbury Racing - 6 September 2014
meet_expappcomment:
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meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: KHales
meet_pm1: RMcKenzie
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name: Canterbury Racing