Canterbury R 5 November 2016 – R 7 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA15930
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury Racing - 5 November 2016
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2016/11/05
Race Number:
R7
Decision:
Mr McNab having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr McNab was fined the sum of $500.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Sothys 44th New Zealand 2000 Guineas, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J P Oatham, against Licensed Jockey (Class A), Mr M J McNab, alleging that Mr McNab, as the rider of HEROIC VALOUR in the race, “used his whip excessively prior to the 200 metres when riding HEROIC VALOUR”.
Mr McNab was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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 for Use of Whip provide:
Once a horse enters the final straight it can be hit with the drawn whip up to six times and then the rider should ride hands and heels for six strides before hitting the horse again with the drawn whip and continue this action until the 200 metres.
Mr Oatham had Mr J W McLaughlin, Stipendiary Steward, show video replays of the final stages of the race from when the field turned for home. Mr McLaughlin pointed out HEROIC VALOUR, ridden by Mr McNab, racing in 3rd position at that point. Shortly thereafter, Mr McNab drew his whip and struck his mount 12 times prior to the 200 metres. At no stage, did Mr McNab break up his use of the whip or return his hand to the whip rein, Mr McLaughlin submitted. The Committee noted that Mr McNab’s mount had finished 3rd in the race.
Mr McNab stated that he had travelled up to leaders and he thought that he was going to be in the race. He admitted that he had ridden the horse “really strongly” and he conceded that it was clear from the video replays that he had used his whip too many times without putting his hand back on the rein. His mount was a colt and needed to be told what to do, Mr McNab said.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr McNab had a clear record under the Rule going back 12 months. He was entitled to credit for that good record. Stewards viewed the breach as being in the mid-range of whip offences – 12 strikes prior to the 200 metres and in a “fairly forceful manner”.
Mr Oatham also pointed out that the race was a Group 1 race with a significant stake, by New Zealand standards, of $400,000. All riders were expected to ride within the Rules, he said.
Mr Oatham then referred to the Penalty Guide starting point of a $500 fine. Taking into account all of the matters he had referred to, Mr Oatham said, the Stewards were of the view that a fine of not less than $500 was appropriate.
Mr McNab said that he was happy to accept a fine but not one of the magnitude of $500. However, he accepted that it was a Group 1 race and he accepted that he had got excited.
Reasons for Penalty:
The starting point under the Penalty Guide for a breach of the Rule is a fine of $500. In this case, from that starting point, we have looked at the aggravating and mitigating factors.
The aggravating factors, as the Committee saw them, were, firstly, the status of the race and the stake payable and, secondly, the number and force of the strikes which put the breach in the mid-to-high range, in the Committee’s opinion. We believe that it is appropriate to increase the starting point by $100 for each of those two factors.
On the other hand, Mr McNab is entitled to a discount for two mitigating factors – that is to say, his very good record and his very frank admission of the breach. For those factors, the Committee considers that a discount of $200 is appropriate, bringing the fine back to $500.
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: a32c08707f81225610965f18c6507c82
informantnumber: A6985
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 08/11/2016
hearing_title: Canterbury R 5 November 2016 - R 7 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Sothys 44th New Zealand 2000 Guineas, an information was filed by Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr J P Oatham, against Licensed Jockey (Class A), Mr M J McNab, alleging that Mr McNab, as the rider of HEROIC VALOUR in the race, “used his whip excessively prior to the 200 metres when riding HEROIC VALOUR”.
Mr McNab was present at the hearing of the information and he indicated that he admitted the breach.
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 for Use of Whip provide:
Once a horse enters the final straight it can be hit with the drawn whip up to six times and then the rider should ride hands and heels for six strides before hitting the horse again with the drawn whip and continue this action until the 200 metres.
Mr Oatham had Mr J W McLaughlin, Stipendiary Steward, show video replays of the final stages of the race from when the field turned for home. Mr McLaughlin pointed out HEROIC VALOUR, ridden by Mr McNab, racing in 3rd position at that point. Shortly thereafter, Mr McNab drew his whip and struck his mount 12 times prior to the 200 metres. At no stage, did Mr McNab break up his use of the whip or return his hand to the whip rein, Mr McLaughlin submitted. The Committee noted that Mr McNab’s mount had finished 3rd in the race.
Mr McNab stated that he had travelled up to leaders and he thought that he was going to be in the race. He admitted that he had ridden the horse “really strongly” and he conceded that it was clear from the video replays that he had used his whip too many times without putting his hand back on the rein. His mount was a colt and needed to be told what to do, Mr McNab said.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr McNab having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Oatham informed the Committee that Mr McNab had a clear record under the Rule going back 12 months. He was entitled to credit for that good record. Stewards viewed the breach as being in the mid-range of whip offences – 12 strikes prior to the 200 metres and in a “fairly forceful manner”.
Mr Oatham also pointed out that the race was a Group 1 race with a significant stake, by New Zealand standards, of $400,000. All riders were expected to ride within the Rules, he said.
Mr Oatham then referred to the Penalty Guide starting point of a $500 fine. Taking into account all of the matters he had referred to, Mr Oatham said, the Stewards were of the view that a fine of not less than $500 was appropriate.
Mr McNab said that he was happy to accept a fine but not one of the magnitude of $500. However, he accepted that it was a Group 1 race and he accepted that he had got excited.
reasonsforpenalty:
The starting point under the Penalty Guide for a breach of the Rule is a fine of $500. In this case, from that starting point, we have looked at the aggravating and mitigating factors.
The aggravating factors, as the Committee saw them, were, firstly, the status of the race and the stake payable and, secondly, the number and force of the strikes which put the breach in the mid-to-high range, in the Committee’s opinion. We believe that it is appropriate to increase the starting point by $100 for each of those two factors.
On the other hand, Mr McNab is entitled to a discount for two mitigating factors – that is to say, his very good record and his very frank admission of the breach. For those factors, the Committee considers that a discount of $200 is appropriate, bringing the fine back to $500.
penalty:
Mr McNab was fined the sum of $500.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr JP Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr MJ McNab - Licensed Jockey
Otherperson: Mr JW McLaughlin - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 8901e0f78f87153ee661bce9be22c228
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: ce3cd3222c8526d14854dacc8bd80cd5
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 05/11/2016
meet_title: Canterbury Racing - 5 November 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: canterbury-racing
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: Canterbury Racing