Forbury Park TC 24 May 2012 – R 5
ID: JCA16974
Meet Title:
Forbury Park TC - 24 May 2012
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
DSteel
Race Date:
2012/05/24
Race Number:
R5
Decision:
We find the charge proved.
Penalty:
We impose a fine of $200 and remind the respondent of his obligations under r 869(2)(a). The fact the horse is responding to his urgings, as we have told him previously, is not a reason to breach the rule.
Charge:
Mr McIntyre, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr J Trainor (PHANTOM GRIN) used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres.
Facts:
Mr McIntyre demonstrated on the videos that from when the field was turning for home to the finish the respondent used his whip 20 times. The horse finished fourth.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McIntyre acknowledged that there were a number of respites between the strikes but said there were simply too many strikes.
Mr Dunn, who assisted Mr Trainor, emphasised that the respondent was endeavouring to comply with the whip rule and that the number of breaks in his action was evidence of this. He submitted the case was borderline and that the respondent should be given the benefit of the doubt. Both he and the respondent agreed there were twenty strikes.
Mr Trainor stated that PHANTOM GRIN was a lazy horse that only responds to the whip. The respondent said he had the opportunity of running a place and had not realised he had struck the horse 20 times. He also emphasised the strikes were not forceful and that he had broken up his action.
Reasons for Decision:
It is accepted that there are 20 strikes to the horse in the last 350 to 400 metres. Mr McIntyre has stated that it is Racing Integrity Unit policy to charge at 20 or more strikes although he acknowledged this is only a guideline. We have had regard to the Judicial Control Authority schedule of recent penalties and this indicates the majority of charges relate to 20 strikes and only a few have in fact exceeded this number.
There is no doubt, as Mr Dunn has forcefully stated on the respondent’s behalf, that Mr Trainor has broken up the strikes on many occasions and that 3 strikes in succession is the most without respite. Mr Trainor has stated that PHANTOM GRIN is a lazy horse and a driver has to “keep at it to keep it going”. However, Mr McIntyre is correct when he says every horse has to be driven within the rules.
We accept the drive is close to the borderline of what is acceptable under the rules but unfortunately the number of strikes is excessive. Twenty is just too many, even though there be brief respites.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McIntyre produced the respondent’s record, which showed 2 breaches of this rule this season. He submitted a fine of 2 to 3 days suspension or a fine of $300 to $400 was appropriate.
Mr Trainor asked for a fine as low as was appropriate and said he preferred not to be suspended as he was in the running to qualify for the New Zealand Junior Drivers' Championship.
Reasons for Penalty:
This is the third time we have to impose penalty on the respondent under this rule this season. One could take the view that the message is not getting through to Mr Trainor and that a penalty in excess of the previous penalty of $300 is clearly appropriate. However, that would not give recognition to the fact that it is evident to us that he is endeavouring to change his action and drive within the rules. We are pleased to see that he is breaking up his strikes and that our warnings to him on the previous occasions have had some impact. We accept that this breach is low end and is the least culpable of the breaches in respect of which we have had to impose penalty upon him.
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of 10 drives or $500 for a second offence. We take this as a starting point and give credit for the fact Mr Trainor is a relatively inexperienced junior driver, and that he is making an effort to adjust his whip action in order to comply with this particular rule.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: bb1835db7a7efee2f13265d0c717191a
informantnumber: 5263
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 24/05/2012
hearing_title: Forbury Park TC 24 May 2012 - R 5
charge:
Mr McIntyre, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr J Trainor (PHANTOM GRIN) used his whip excessively over the final 400 metres.
facts:
Mr McIntyre demonstrated on the videos that from when the field was turning for home to the finish the respondent used his whip 20 times. The horse finished fourth.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McIntyre acknowledged that there were a number of respites between the strikes but said there were simply too many strikes.
Mr Dunn, who assisted Mr Trainor, emphasised that the respondent was endeavouring to comply with the whip rule and that the number of breaks in his action was evidence of this. He submitted the case was borderline and that the respondent should be given the benefit of the doubt. Both he and the respondent agreed there were twenty strikes.
Mr Trainor stated that PHANTOM GRIN was a lazy horse that only responds to the whip. The respondent said he had the opportunity of running a place and had not realised he had struck the horse 20 times. He also emphasised the strikes were not forceful and that he had broken up his action.
reasonsfordecision:
It is accepted that there are 20 strikes to the horse in the last 350 to 400 metres. Mr McIntyre has stated that it is Racing Integrity Unit policy to charge at 20 or more strikes although he acknowledged this is only a guideline. We have had regard to the Judicial Control Authority schedule of recent penalties and this indicates the majority of charges relate to 20 strikes and only a few have in fact exceeded this number.
There is no doubt, as Mr Dunn has forcefully stated on the respondent’s behalf, that Mr Trainor has broken up the strikes on many occasions and that 3 strikes in succession is the most without respite. Mr Trainor has stated that PHANTOM GRIN is a lazy horse and a driver has to “keep at it to keep it going”. However, Mr McIntyre is correct when he says every horse has to be driven within the rules.
We accept the drive is close to the borderline of what is acceptable under the rules but unfortunately the number of strikes is excessive. Twenty is just too many, even though there be brief respites.
Decision:
We find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McIntyre produced the respondent’s record, which showed 2 breaches of this rule this season. He submitted a fine of 2 to 3 days suspension or a fine of $300 to $400 was appropriate.
Mr Trainor asked for a fine as low as was appropriate and said he preferred not to be suspended as he was in the running to qualify for the New Zealand Junior Drivers' Championship.
reasonsforpenalty:
This is the third time we have to impose penalty on the respondent under this rule this season. One could take the view that the message is not getting through to Mr Trainor and that a penalty in excess of the previous penalty of $300 is clearly appropriate. However, that would not give recognition to the fact that it is evident to us that he is endeavouring to change his action and drive within the rules. We are pleased to see that he is breaking up his strikes and that our warnings to him on the previous occasions have had some impact. We accept that this breach is low end and is the least culpable of the breaches in respect of which we have had to impose penalty upon him.
The Penalty Guide recommends a starting point of 10 drives or $500 for a second offence. We take this as a starting point and give credit for the fact Mr Trainor is a relatively inexperienced junior driver, and that he is making an effort to adjust his whip action in order to comply with this particular rule.
penalty:
We impose a fine of $200 and remind the respondent of his obligations under r 869(2)(a). The fact the horse is responding to his urgings, as we have told him previously, is not a reason to breach the rule.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr McIntyre, stipendiary steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Trainor, junior horseman
Otherperson: Mr D Dunn, licensed horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 83022b80579a3bbee37ed7412ff037fb
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: b2c8e40cc846a99d710089c60bfa77b9
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 24/05/2012
meet_title: Forbury Park TC - 24 May 2012
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: forbury-park-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: DSteel
meet_pm2: none
name: Forbury Park TC