Archive Decision

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Counties RC 18 September 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA12343

Applicant:
Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr L Magorrian - Apprentice Jockey

Other Person:
Mr N Harris - Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A7874

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of the whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(ii)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Counties RC - 18 September 2016

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2016/09/18

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

As Mr Magorrian admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

Penalty:

We grant Mr Magorrian’s request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).

Accordingly, Mr Magorrian had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 24 September and conclude after racing on 28 September 2016 (2 days).

That period of suspension encompasses meetings at Te Aroha and Whangarei.

Facts:

Following the running of race 1, Ssangyong 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Mr Magorrian used the whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres when riding BATTLE PLAN.

Mr Magorrian acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr N Harris assisted Mr Magorrian at the hearing.

Rule 636(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is 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 Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Magorrian and showed that he struck his mount 10 times from the 400 metres until the 200 metres. He said this was outside the guidelines. He noted that Mr Magorrian did ride hands and heels for 4 strides and there was some respite with the drawn whip.

Mr Magorrian said that he rode at Riccarton yesterday on a good track and he had misjudged the situation when riding on a heavy track today. He confirmed that he stopped riding his mount with the drawn whip for 4 strides but not for the required 6 strides.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Coles produced Mr Magorrian’s record which showed 1 previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred on the 31 August 2016 and a $300 fine was imposed. He said in the prior 12 months Mr Magorrian had a clear record which was a significant improvement. He said Mr Magorrian should be given credit for admission of the breach and submitted a 2 day suspension would be an appropriate penalty.

Mr Magorrian said he would prefer no suspension but accepted that 2 days would be a fair penalty. He added that he was riding a slow horse over 2200 metres on a heavy track.

Mr Magorrian advised that he had upcoming engagements at Ellerslie on 24 September, and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Committee advised Mr Magorrian with respect to excessive use of the whip where the rider is a repeat offender, a separate starting point is recommended for a 2nd plus breach (within a period of 6 months) of a 3 – 5 riding day suspension. This was adopted as per the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees.

The mitigating factors were Mr Magorrian’s admission of the breach, the number of strikes (10) were in the low to mid – range and the severity of strikes was low. When reviewing the video films it was evident that Mr Magorrian’s strikes were not forceful. The Committee acknowledged the frequency of strikes were not continuous and there were some clear pauses.

With this being Mr Magorrian’s second breach in 3 weeks it was a noteworthy aggravating fact.

After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered that 2 days would be an appropriate suspension on this occasion. Mr Magorrian was well aware of the consequences if he was to breach this Rule again in the near future.

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: 50642a7359bf71af78652dc44267707d


informantnumber: A7874


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of the whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 19/09/2016


hearing_title: Counties RC 18 September 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 1, Ssangyong 2200, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Coles, alleged that Mr Magorrian used the whip in an excessive manner prior to the 200 metres when riding BATTLE PLAN.

Mr Magorrian acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach. Mr N Harris assisted Mr Magorrian at the hearing.

Rule 636(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is 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 Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Magorrian and showed that he struck his mount 10 times from the 400 metres until the 200 metres. He said this was outside the guidelines. He noted that Mr Magorrian did ride hands and heels for 4 strides and there was some respite with the drawn whip.

Mr Magorrian said that he rode at Riccarton yesterday on a good track and he had misjudged the situation when riding on a heavy track today. He confirmed that he stopped riding his mount with the drawn whip for 4 strides but not for the required 6 strides.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Magorrian admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Coles produced Mr Magorrian’s record which showed 1 previous breach under this Rule in the last 12 months. This occurred on the 31 August 2016 and a $300 fine was imposed. He said in the prior 12 months Mr Magorrian had a clear record which was a significant improvement. He said Mr Magorrian should be given credit for admission of the breach and submitted a 2 day suspension would be an appropriate penalty.

Mr Magorrian said he would prefer no suspension but accepted that 2 days would be a fair penalty. He added that he was riding a slow horse over 2200 metres on a heavy track.

Mr Magorrian advised that he had upcoming engagements at Ellerslie on 24 September, and sought a deferment to any proposed suspension.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Committee advised Mr Magorrian with respect to excessive use of the whip where the rider is a repeat offender, a separate starting point is recommended for a 2nd plus breach (within a period of 6 months) of a 3 – 5 riding day suspension. This was adopted as per the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees.

The mitigating factors were Mr Magorrian’s admission of the breach, the number of strikes (10) were in the low to mid – range and the severity of strikes was low. When reviewing the video films it was evident that Mr Magorrian’s strikes were not forceful. The Committee acknowledged the frequency of strikes were not continuous and there were some clear pauses.

With this being Mr Magorrian’s second breach in 3 weeks it was a noteworthy aggravating fact.

After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered that 2 days would be an appropriate suspension on this occasion. Mr Magorrian was well aware of the consequences if he was to breach this Rule again in the near future.


penalty:

We grant Mr Magorrian’s request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1106(2).

Accordingly, Mr Magorrian had his license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 24 September and conclude after racing on 28 September 2016 (2 days).

That period of suspension encompasses meetings at Te Aroha and Whangarei.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)


Informant: Mr A Coles - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr L Magorrian - Apprentice Jockey


Otherperson: Mr N Harris - Apprentice Jockey Mentor, Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 4b0b9034aa8d9a2597e26a425914e9f0


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R1


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


race_otherexp:


race_chair:


race_pm1:


race_pm2:


meetid: 768a641580756fdb14878fe4b84791a4


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 18/09/2016


meet_title: Counties RC - 18 September 2016


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: counties-rc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: AGodsalve


meet_pm2: none


name: Counties RC