Canterbury R 9 August 2014 – R 6
ID: JCA17332
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Canterbury Racing - 9 August 2014
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
KHales
Race Date:
2014/08/09
Race Number:
R6
Decision:
Mr Singer having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Mr Singer was fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Racecourse Hotel and Motor Lodge 140th Grand National Steeplechase, an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr R L Neal, against Licensed Jockey (Classes A & D), Mr C J H Singer, alleging that Mr Singer, as the rider of VOLKSWAGIN in the race, “used his whip unnecessarily on VOLKSWAGIN over the concluding stages”.
Mr Singer 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 unnecessary, excessive or improper.
Mr Neal said that, while there were stakes payable, there came a time in the straight when VOLKSWAGIN was “all washed up’, its chances of catching PALEMO, the runner immediately in front of it, had all but disappeared in the absence of something extraordinary happening to PALEMO, and Mr Singer should have ceased his use of the whip on his horse.
He then showed video replays of the final 200 metres of the 5600 metres race. He pointed out VOLKSWAGIN racing in 6th (and last) position as he jumped the last fence some 200 metres from the finish. He alleged that Mr Singer had used his whip relentlessly over the final stages. The Stewards believed that it was proper for him to try the horse up to this point but from 100-150 metres from the finishing line he ought to have realised that he was not taking any ground off the 5th placed runner, PALEMO, and should not have persisted in his use of the whip, Mr Neal said.
Mr Neal alleged that, approaching the final fence, PALEMO was approximately 1½ lengths in front of VOLKSWAGIN and, after clearing the fence, had increased that lead to approximately 2½ lengths and had maintained that advantage to the line. For at least the final 6 strides, the Stewards believed that Mr Singer’s use of the whip was unnecessary, Mr Neal said.
Mr Singer told the Committee that, in the Koral Steeplechase on Day 1 of the meeting, VOLKSWAGIN was beaten off turning for home and was going to run last. The horse had picked up and ran on for 4th. He is a horse that, when you think he is tiring, tends to keep giving, Mr Singer said, hence his use of the whip on the horse in this race. He thought that there was a chance of the horse running 5th as PALEMO was not increasing its advantage and he wanted to do his best for the horse’s connections. He agreed that he went “over the top” and has admitted the breach.
Mr Singer accepted Mr Neal’s submission that there came a point in the final 100 metres when he should have stopped using his whip.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Neal said that Mr Singer has been licensed for 8 years and causes the Stewards very little trouble in any respect. His record showed no offending in the past 12 months. It was an excellent record in the assessment of the Stewards, Mr Neal said.
An aggravating factor was the status of the race and the stake payable (a Prestige Jumping Race for a stake of $75,000). The image portrayed to the viewing public was also an aggravating factor, Mr Neal submitted. It was a mitigating factor, Mr Neal submitted, that had Mr Singer finished one placing higher his use of the whip would have been justified. He submitted that a monetary penalty was appropriate in all of the circumstances. He submitted that a fine in the range of $250-350 was appropriate.
Mr Neal asked the Committee to accept that jumps riders have a limited opportunity to earn an income and, in most cases, their riding is a hobby.
Mr Singer asked the Committee to consider his good record and to treat him as leniently as possible.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a fine of $300 for a first breach of the Rule. We identified the aggravating factors as the status of the race and the stake payable and the fact that the unnecessary use was in the mid to high range in our assessment. These factors warranted an uplift in the starting point by $100 to $400.
The Committee was able to give Mr Singer a discount from the figure of $400 for, firstly, his record – described by Mr Neal as “excellent” – and, secondly, his very frank admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those factors at $100.
In all of the circumstances of the case, the Committee was of the view that a fine of $300 was an appropriate penalty. The Committee did not need to consider a suspension 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: f99d310c504af077deb0f633071d12aa
informantnumber: A1597
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Unnecessary use of the whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 05/08/2014
hearing_title: Canterbury R 9 August 2014 - R 6
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 6, Racecourse Hotel and Motor Lodge 140th Grand National Steeplechase, an information was filed by Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward, Mr R L Neal, against Licensed Jockey (Classes A & D), Mr C J H Singer, alleging that Mr Singer, as the rider of VOLKSWAGIN in the race, “used his whip unnecessarily on VOLKSWAGIN over the concluding stages”.
Mr Singer 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 unnecessary, excessive or improper.
Mr Neal said that, while there were stakes payable, there came a time in the straight when VOLKSWAGIN was “all washed up’, its chances of catching PALEMO, the runner immediately in front of it, had all but disappeared in the absence of something extraordinary happening to PALEMO, and Mr Singer should have ceased his use of the whip on his horse.
He then showed video replays of the final 200 metres of the 5600 metres race. He pointed out VOLKSWAGIN racing in 6th (and last) position as he jumped the last fence some 200 metres from the finish. He alleged that Mr Singer had used his whip relentlessly over the final stages. The Stewards believed that it was proper for him to try the horse up to this point but from 100-150 metres from the finishing line he ought to have realised that he was not taking any ground off the 5th placed runner, PALEMO, and should not have persisted in his use of the whip, Mr Neal said.
Mr Neal alleged that, approaching the final fence, PALEMO was approximately 1½ lengths in front of VOLKSWAGIN and, after clearing the fence, had increased that lead to approximately 2½ lengths and had maintained that advantage to the line. For at least the final 6 strides, the Stewards believed that Mr Singer’s use of the whip was unnecessary, Mr Neal said.
Mr Singer told the Committee that, in the Koral Steeplechase on Day 1 of the meeting, VOLKSWAGIN was beaten off turning for home and was going to run last. The horse had picked up and ran on for 4th. He is a horse that, when you think he is tiring, tends to keep giving, Mr Singer said, hence his use of the whip on the horse in this race. He thought that there was a chance of the horse running 5th as PALEMO was not increasing its advantage and he wanted to do his best for the horse’s connections. He agreed that he went “over the top” and has admitted the breach.
Mr Singer accepted Mr Neal’s submission that there came a point in the final 100 metres when he should have stopped using his whip.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Singer having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Neal said that Mr Singer has been licensed for 8 years and causes the Stewards very little trouble in any respect. His record showed no offending in the past 12 months. It was an excellent record in the assessment of the Stewards, Mr Neal said.
An aggravating factor was the status of the race and the stake payable (a Prestige Jumping Race for a stake of $75,000). The image portrayed to the viewing public was also an aggravating factor, Mr Neal submitted. It was a mitigating factor, Mr Neal submitted, that had Mr Singer finished one placing higher his use of the whip would have been justified. He submitted that a monetary penalty was appropriate in all of the circumstances. He submitted that a fine in the range of $250-350 was appropriate.
Mr Neal asked the Committee to accept that jumps riders have a limited opportunity to earn an income and, in most cases, their riding is a hobby.
Mr Singer asked the Committee to consider his good record and to treat him as leniently as possible.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of a fine of $300 for a first breach of the Rule. We identified the aggravating factors as the status of the race and the stake payable and the fact that the unnecessary use was in the mid to high range in our assessment. These factors warranted an uplift in the starting point by $100 to $400.
The Committee was able to give Mr Singer a discount from the figure of $400 for, firstly, his record – described by Mr Neal as “excellent” – and, secondly, his very frank admission of the breach. We assessed the appropriate discount for those factors at $100.
In all of the circumstances of the case, the Committee was of the view that a fine of $300 was an appropriate penalty. The Committee did not need to consider a suspension in this case.
penalty:
Mr Singer was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(3)(b)
Informant: R L Neal, Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: C J H Singer (Licensed Jockey Classes A & D)
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 1ac03c0039addd9dedc5c83ea1f0313e
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R6
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 3695ae923bc68f86e4a69b33b42875be
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 09/08/2014
meet_title: Canterbury Racing - 9 August 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: canterbury-racing
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: KHales
meet_pm2: none
name: Canterbury Racing