Forbury Park TC 23 March 2015 – R 5
ID: JCA14366
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 23 March 2015
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2015/03/23
Race Number:
R5
Decision:
As Mr McIlwrick has admitted the breach it is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr McIlwrick is fined the sum of $175 and reminded of his obligations under the Rules with respect to the use of the whip.
Facts:
Mr Wallis alleged that Mr McIlwrick used his whip in an unnecessary manner over the concluding stages of race 5, the HAIR CO. HAIRDRESSING MOBILE PACE, when driving FRANCO CALIPH.
Mr Wallis demonstrated that FRANCO CALIPH was 3 back on the fence and was struggling to keep up as the field progressed up the straight. Mr McIlwrick continued to strike FRANCO CALIPH despite the fact it was evident that the gelding was failing to remain competitive in the event. These strikes, he said, continued until the 50 metres mark. He stated that when questioned, Mr McIlwrick had explained that the strikes were to the shaft.
Mr McIlwrick stated that he accepted that his whip use was unnecessary and that he should have stopped using it before the 50 metres mark. He said the run was very uncharacteristic of FRANCO CALIPH and that the horse had stopped quite quickly, quicker than it ever had before.
Mr Williamson emphasised it was Mr McIlwrick’s first breach of this rule and that the strikes were to the shaft. He said Mr McIlwrick’s whip action made the breach look worse than it was. He believed the breach was at the lower end.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Wallis produced Mr McIlwrick’s record, which was clear for the past 12 months. He said Mr McIlwrick had had over 200 drives and was a busy junior driver. He viewed the breach as being in the medium to high range and submitted a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr McIlwrick stated this was his first ever breach of the Rules and asked for the fine to be as low as possible.
Mr Williamson submitted a fine of $150 was appropriate as Mr McIlwrick was a junior driver with a good record and this breach would be “a wake up call” for Mr McIlwrick.
Reasons for Penalty:
We view the breach as mid range. Mr McIlwrick has continued to use the whip when FRANCO CALIPH was stopping and was clearly a beaten runner. We accept that the strikes were to the shaft and not to the horse, but Mr McIlwrick is of course, still in breach of the rule.
The Penalty Guide records a starting point of $300. When regard is had to the nature of the breach and Mr McIlwrick’s co-operation with the stewards, admission of the breach and his excellent record for a busy junior driver, we believe Mr Wallis’s assessment that a fine of $200 is appropriate is near the mark. As this is Mr McIlwrick’s first ever breach of the Rules of Harness Racing, we apply a small further reduction.
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: 7adb0995b22f2aa5839ad7e2a335fad1
informantnumber: 6614
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: unnecessary use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 20/03/2015
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 23 March 2015 - R 5
charge:
facts:
Mr Wallis alleged that Mr McIlwrick used his whip in an unnecessary manner over the concluding stages of race 5, the HAIR CO. HAIRDRESSING MOBILE PACE, when driving FRANCO CALIPH.
Mr Wallis demonstrated that FRANCO CALIPH was 3 back on the fence and was struggling to keep up as the field progressed up the straight. Mr McIlwrick continued to strike FRANCO CALIPH despite the fact it was evident that the gelding was failing to remain competitive in the event. These strikes, he said, continued until the 50 metres mark. He stated that when questioned, Mr McIlwrick had explained that the strikes were to the shaft.
Mr McIlwrick stated that he accepted that his whip use was unnecessary and that he should have stopped using it before the 50 metres mark. He said the run was very uncharacteristic of FRANCO CALIPH and that the horse had stopped quite quickly, quicker than it ever had before.
Mr Williamson emphasised it was Mr McIlwrick’s first breach of this rule and that the strikes were to the shaft. He said Mr McIlwrick’s whip action made the breach look worse than it was. He believed the breach was at the lower end.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr McIlwrick has admitted the breach it is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Wallis produced Mr McIlwrick’s record, which was clear for the past 12 months. He said Mr McIlwrick had had over 200 drives and was a busy junior driver. He viewed the breach as being in the medium to high range and submitted a fine of $200 was appropriate.
Mr McIlwrick stated this was his first ever breach of the Rules and asked for the fine to be as low as possible.
Mr Williamson submitted a fine of $150 was appropriate as Mr McIlwrick was a junior driver with a good record and this breach would be “a wake up call” for Mr McIlwrick.
reasonsforpenalty:
We view the breach as mid range. Mr McIlwrick has continued to use the whip when FRANCO CALIPH was stopping and was clearly a beaten runner. We accept that the strikes were to the shaft and not to the horse, but Mr McIlwrick is of course, still in breach of the rule.
The Penalty Guide records a starting point of $300. When regard is had to the nature of the breach and Mr McIlwrick’s co-operation with the stewards, admission of the breach and his excellent record for a busy junior driver, we believe Mr Wallis’s assessment that a fine of $200 is appropriate is near the mark. As this is Mr McIlwrick’s first ever breach of the Rules of Harness Racing, we apply a small further reduction.
penalty:
Mr McIlwrick is fined the sum of $175 and reminded of his obligations under the Rules with respect to the use of the whip.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a) no horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner
Informant: Mr S W Wallis - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R McIlwrick, Junior Horseman, Mr M Williamson, Senior Horseman, assisting Mr McIlwrick
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 0591096c47ca6b61e4bf568798b0bb3a
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R5
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: e3f34d005c6c7191f78ac4aaaad80a2d
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 23/03/2015
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 23 March 2015
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC