Canterbury R 30 January 2016 – R 4 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA17226
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury Racing - 30 January 2016
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
DAnderson
Race Date:
2016/01/30
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Murray was fined the sum of $250.00.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Berkley Stud Selling @ Festival Sale Rating 65, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J P Oatham, against Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B), Mr B M Murray, alleging that Mr Murray, as the rider of CAVATINO in Race 4, “used his whip excessively on his mount CAVATINO prior to the 200 metres”.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. He was assisted at the hearing by Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr Willy Harnett.
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.
Mr Oatham had Stipendiary Steward, Mr M R Davidson, show a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out CAVATINO, ridden by Mr Murray, racing towards the rear of the field near the rail as the field entered the home straight. He pointed out Mr Murray draw his whip and then, prior to the 200 metres, use his whip on some 11 occasions. His use of the whip was outside the guidelines for use of the whip – at no time did Mr Murray put his hand back on the whip rein, Mr Davidson said. Mr Murray did not dispute the number of strikes alleged by Mr Davidson.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham confirmed that Mr Murray’s record was clear. However, it was clear from the video replay that Mr Murray’s whip use was well outside the established guidelines. Mr Murray was riding in a “vigorous manner” and it did not appear that the horse was responding to his urgings. The level of the breach was mid-range, Mr Oatham submitted. He submitted that a fine of $250-300 was appropriate and consistent with other recent penalties.
Mr Harnett submitted that the breach was in the low to mid range. Mr Murray had not drawn his whip until the 400 metres and had used it in a backhand manner initially. At the time he was only 4 lengths from the leader and still in “relative contention” on a favoured runner and was trying to give the horse every opportunity. When he got to the 200 metres, Mr Murray had realised that the horse was out of contention and ceased using the whip, Mr Harnett said.
Mr Murray said that he had tried the horse as hard as he could and had then “sat up”.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee noted that the starting point for penalty under the Penalty Guide for a breach of the Rule is a $500 fine or a 2 days’ suspension. The Committee did not believe that a suspension was appropriate in this case. Mr Murray was entitled to a significant discount from that starting point for his frank admission of the breach and his good record. The Committee regarded the degree of seriousness as being no worse that mid-range – 11 strikes is at the lower end of the scale – but the Committee did not accept Mr Harnett’s submission that CAVATINO was in contention until the 200 metres.
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: ed25ebfddea79d1af9c3769878729b69
informantnumber: A6366
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 03/02/2016
hearing_title: Canterbury R 30 January 2016 - R 4 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, Berkley Stud Selling @ Festival Sale Rating 65, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr J P Oatham, against Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B), Mr B M Murray, alleging that Mr Murray, as the rider of CAVATINO in Race 4, “used his whip excessively on his mount CAVATINO prior to the 200 metres”.
Mr Murray was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach. He was assisted at the hearing by Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr Willy Harnett.
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.
Mr Oatham had Stipendiary Steward, Mr M R Davidson, show a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out CAVATINO, ridden by Mr Murray, racing towards the rear of the field near the rail as the field entered the home straight. He pointed out Mr Murray draw his whip and then, prior to the 200 metres, use his whip on some 11 occasions. His use of the whip was outside the guidelines for use of the whip – at no time did Mr Murray put his hand back on the whip rein, Mr Davidson said. Mr Murray did not dispute the number of strikes alleged by Mr Davidson.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Murray having admitted the charge, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham confirmed that Mr Murray’s record was clear. However, it was clear from the video replay that Mr Murray’s whip use was well outside the established guidelines. Mr Murray was riding in a “vigorous manner” and it did not appear that the horse was responding to his urgings. The level of the breach was mid-range, Mr Oatham submitted. He submitted that a fine of $250-300 was appropriate and consistent with other recent penalties.
Mr Harnett submitted that the breach was in the low to mid range. Mr Murray had not drawn his whip until the 400 metres and had used it in a backhand manner initially. At the time he was only 4 lengths from the leader and still in “relative contention” on a favoured runner and was trying to give the horse every opportunity. When he got to the 200 metres, Mr Murray had realised that the horse was out of contention and ceased using the whip, Mr Harnett said.
Mr Murray said that he had tried the horse as hard as he could and had then “sat up”.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee noted that the starting point for penalty under the Penalty Guide for a breach of the Rule is a $500 fine or a 2 days’ suspension. The Committee did not believe that a suspension was appropriate in this case. Mr Murray was entitled to a significant discount from that starting point for his frank admission of the breach and his good record. The Committee regarded the degree of seriousness as being no worse that mid-range – 11 strikes is at the lower end of the scale – but the Committee did not accept Mr Harnett’s submission that CAVATINO was in contention until the 200 metres.
penalty:
Mr Murray was fined the sum of $250.00.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: J P Oatham, Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: B M Murray, Licensed Apprentice Jockey (Class B)
Otherperson: Mr W Harnett, Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr M R Davidson - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 9c27ba6b2ed8a4c6f4b66a08ac04644d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R4
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: b278cc4121cb0b4e9d2faff021a452fa
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 30/01/2016
meet_title: Canterbury Racing - 30 January 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: canterbury-racing
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: DAnderson
meet_pm2: none
name: Canterbury Racing