Canterbury R 4 December 2020 – R 4 – Chair, Mr S Ching
ID: JCA11491
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury JC - 4 December 2020
Meet Chair:
SChing
Race Date:
2020/12/04
Race Number:
R4
Decision:
Mr Lowry having admitted the breach; the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Lowry is fined the sum of $500.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 4, the Skelton Brothers Maiden, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Davidson, against Jockey (Class A), Mr J Lowry alleging that, as the rider of ACCUSE in the race, he used his whip excessively prior to the 100m.
Mr Lowry was present at the hearing of the Information and had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted. He also confirmed that he understood the provisions of 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 Davidson, with the assistance of Manager of Stewards, Mr N McIntyre, gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Lowry riding ACCUSE, positioned in the trail of the leader as the field entered the home straight. He said that inside the 400m, Mr Lowry drew the whip and used it on 8 occasions, prior to the 100m. Mr Davidson stated that none of the strikes were consecutive.
Mr Lowry did not dispute the number of strikes contended by Mr Davidson and added that he had had a brain fade. He said that ACCUSE was laying out and using the whip in the right hand was helping to keep the horse straight but conceded the number of strikes was outside the rules.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Davidson told the Committee that Mr Lowry had a previous breach of this rule being at Ashburton on 29 October 2020 where he received a $400 fine for a first offence with 9 strikes and where he went on to win the race. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a $500 fine for a second offence. Mr Davidson stated that there were no aggravating factors to consider and submitted that a fine as per the Penalty Guide be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Lowry stated that his record overall was good with only one previous breach in the previous 12 months.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of a $500 fine, mitigation inclusive, for a second offence of this rule within a 12-month period. The Committee agreed with Mr Davidson that there were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift warranted.
We therefore determined that a $500 fine was 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: 2220b003969201da447d13ad8dca0bd8
informantnumber: A12848
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/12/2020
hearing_title: Canterbury R 4 December 2020 - R 4 - Chair, Mr S Ching
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 4, the Skelton Brothers Maiden, an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr M Davidson, against Jockey (Class A), Mr J Lowry alleging that, as the rider of ACCUSE in the race, he used his whip excessively prior to the 100m.
Mr Lowry was present at the hearing of the Information and had endorsed the Information that the breach was admitted. He also confirmed that he understood the provisions of 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 Davidson, with the assistance of Manager of Stewards, Mr N McIntyre, gave evidence and showed video replays of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Mr Lowry riding ACCUSE, positioned in the trail of the leader as the field entered the home straight. He said that inside the 400m, Mr Lowry drew the whip and used it on 8 occasions, prior to the 100m. Mr Davidson stated that none of the strikes were consecutive.
Mr Lowry did not dispute the number of strikes contended by Mr Davidson and added that he had had a brain fade. He said that ACCUSE was laying out and using the whip in the right hand was helping to keep the horse straight but conceded the number of strikes was outside the rules.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Lowry having admitted the breach; the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Davidson told the Committee that Mr Lowry had a previous breach of this rule being at Ashburton on 29 October 2020 where he received a $400 fine for a first offence with 9 strikes and where he went on to win the race. He stated that the JCA Penalty Guide provides a starting point of a $500 fine for a second offence. Mr Davidson stated that there were no aggravating factors to consider and submitted that a fine as per the Penalty Guide be considered as penalty in this case.
Mr Lowry stated that his record overall was good with only one previous breach in the previous 12 months.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee had regard to the JCA Penalty Guide starting point of a $500 fine, mitigation inclusive, for a second offence of this rule within a 12-month period. The Committee agreed with Mr Davidson that there were no aggravating factors to consider, therefore no uplift warranted.
We therefore determined that a $500 fine was an appropriate penalty in this case.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Lowry is fined the sum of $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638 (3) (b) (ii)
Informant: M Davidson- Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: J Lowry-Class A Rider
Otherperson: Mr N McIntyre - General Manager of Stewards
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 9643bd68e9dd6b1295e971268c2ad013
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: 6125890d379b77bf10d80ae2f1c04631
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/12/2020
meet_title: Canterbury JC - 4 December 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: canterbury-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: SChing
meet_pm1: none
meet_pm2: none
name: Canterbury JC