Canterbury R 21 March 2020 – R 8 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA13426
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury JC - 21 March 2020
Meet Chair:
SChing
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2020/03/21
Race Number:
R 8
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the breach; the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Murray is fined the sum of $450.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders Group 3, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham, against Jockey (Class A), Mr B Murray, alleging that, as the rider of THE PRECIOUS ONE in the race, he struck his mount excessively prior to the 100m.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information and had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted, which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Rule 638 provides as follows:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(ii) excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide as follows:
Flat Races-Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out: i (i) The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions. ii (ii) The whip should not be used in consecutive strides. iii (iii) The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins. In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Mr Oatham, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Davidson, gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Murray riding THE PRECIOUS ONE, positioned in a trailing position and in contention as the field entered the home straight. He said that Mr Murray drew the whip and used it on 8 occasions, prior to the 100m. Mr Oatham stated that it was the sheer number of strikes prior to the 100m that brought about the charge.
Mr Murray elected to make no submissions.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham told the Committee that Mr Murray had a clear record in relation to this rule since the reset in October 2019, and this was his first offence. He said that the sheer number of strikes was a concern, being only one under the threshold of 9 in a Group race where a suspension is the starting point. Mr Oatham stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a $300 for a first offence with this rule, however as the status of the race was Group 3 with a stake of $80,000, he submitted that an uplift in penalty to a fine in the vicinity of $500, be considered in this case.
Mr Murray elected to make no submissions in regard to penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of a $300 fine, mitigation inclusive, for a first offence of this rule. We agreed with Mr Oatham that there was an aggravating factor, that being the status of the race, which we determined warranted an uplift in penalty. This uplift we set at $150.
We therefore determined that a fine of $450 was appropriate.
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: 3556e2be4b2908b02ec588af4c47c60a
informantnumber: A12818
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of the Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/03/2020
hearing_title: Canterbury R 21 March 2020 - R 8 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 8, Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders Group 3, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J Oatham, against Jockey (Class A), Mr B Murray, alleging that, as the rider of THE PRECIOUS ONE in the race, he struck his mount excessively prior to the 100m.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information and had endorsed the information that the breach was admitted, which he confirmed at the hearing. He also confirmed that he understood the rule he was being charged with.
Rule 638 provides as follows:
(3) A Rider shall not:
(b) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(ii) excessive
The “Guidelines with Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provide as follows:
Flat Races-Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out: i (i) The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions. ii (ii) The whip should not be used in consecutive strides. iii (iii) The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins. In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Mr Oatham, with the assistance of Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Davidson, gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Murray riding THE PRECIOUS ONE, positioned in a trailing position and in contention as the field entered the home straight. He said that Mr Murray drew the whip and used it on 8 occasions, prior to the 100m. Mr Oatham stated that it was the sheer number of strikes prior to the 100m that brought about the charge.
Mr Murray elected to make no submissions.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the breach; the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham told the Committee that Mr Murray had a clear record in relation to this rule since the reset in October 2019, and this was his first offence. He said that the sheer number of strikes was a concern, being only one under the threshold of 9 in a Group race where a suspension is the starting point. Mr Oatham stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provided a $300 for a first offence with this rule, however as the status of the race was Group 3 with a stake of $80,000, he submitted that an uplift in penalty to a fine in the vicinity of $500, be considered in this case.
Mr Murray elected to make no submissions in regard to penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of a $300 fine, mitigation inclusive, for a first offence of this rule. We agreed with Mr Oatham that there was an aggravating factor, that being the status of the race, which we determined warranted an uplift in penalty. This uplift we set at $150.
We therefore determined that a fine of $450 was appropriate.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Murray is fined the sum of $450.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr B Murray - Licensed Jockey (Class A)
Otherperson: Mr M Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7f7f90df9dad6c9cc25e5c140b31fbbf
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: f4fb30429081ae677fb3011eafbf2ec1
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 21/03/2020
meet_title: Canterbury JC - 21 March 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: canterbury-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Canterbury JC