Hawera HRC 6 April 2015 – R 2
ID: JCA12502
Meet Title:
Hawera HRC - 6 April 2015
Meet Chair:
PWilliams
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2015/04/06
Race Number:
R2
Decision:
Penalty:
Facts:
Following the running of race 2 the “Brian & Anna Clement Racing Stable Mobile Pace” Information A7461 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869 (4) by Open Horseman Ms N Chilcott. The Information stated “in that horsewoman N Chilcott drove “Alta Surreal” in a manner which caused interference to “V C Dell (B Butcher) when shifting ground outwards with approximately 100m to run”. Ms Chilcott signed the Information indicating she did not admit the breach and confirmed this at the hearing and also that she understood the Rule under which she had been charged.
Rule 869 (4) states:- “No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress”.
Submissions for Decision:
Using the side-on film at approximately the 300m mark Mr Muirhead highlighted Ms Chilcott running 1 out and 1 back with Mr Butcher to the outside of and behind Ms Chilcott. Mr Muirhead said as the horses progressed down the straight Ms Chilcott moved out approximately 2.5 to 3 cart widths and made contact with, and checked the progress of, Mr Butcher and “V C Dell”.
Mr Mulcay said that “Alta Surreal” had lugged in coming round the bend into the straight and using the head-on film of the incident said Ms Chilcott had come off the back of the horse in front of her but in moving out had contacted the leg of Mr Butcher’s horse. Mr Mulcay it was a long established principle that the driver of a horse shifting ground must do so in a safe manner without causing interference to any other runner or itself and this had not occurred on this occasion.
Mr Butcher was called as a witness for Mr Mulcay and was asked why his horse galloped briefly with approximately 100m to run. He said Ms Chilcott was to his inside and had an advantage over him but she moved out quickly and he was unable to pull his horse wider which resulted in the contact between her sulky wheel and his horse’s leg. Mr Mulcay asked Mr Butcher if he felt his horse had contributed to the incident and he said that his horse had not pulled away from Ms Chilcott as quickly as he had expected. Mr Butcher also confirmed to Mr Mulcay that he was also unable to move further out due to there being a horse on his outside at the time of the incident.
Mrs Chilcott asked Mr Butcher asked to confirm that as he saw her moving out he tried to turn his horse away but was unable to do so. Mr Butcher confirmed this was correct. She asked him if he thought the incident occurred because she drove into him or that it was a case of her horse racing greenly. He replied saying that he thought her horse was racing greenly.
Mrs Chilcott played the films from the top of the straight and said that her horse had given her a difficult drive in what was only its second start. She asked Mr Muirhead to confirm that was the case and he agreed that at that point of the race (approximately 200m before the incident occurred) her horse was lugging in. She said as she progressed down the straight her horse was still proving difficult to drive and running in and as she angled him out for a run he over reacted and ducked out sharply. She said she immediately straightened up, had not continued outwards and done everything she possibly could to keep her horse in a straight line.
Mr Mulcay asked Ms Chilcott to confirm that in coming off the back of the horse in front she had used the whip and she confirmed that was the case. He put it to her that a more cautious approach would have been to have had better control of the horse and not have used the whip. Ms Chilcott did not agree saying that even though she had both reins in her left hand she was in control of the horse and had immediately straightened after contacting Mr Butcher’s horse.
To a question from the Committee Ms Chilcott said that Mr Butcher’s horse broke because her sulky wheel had contacted his horse’s front leg after her horse had ducked out quickly.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident and listened to the submissions of all parties. It is clear that approaching the 100m mark Ms Chilcott has angled her horse outwards approximately 3 horse widths quite sharply and taken the line of Mr Butcher. In doing so her sulky wheel has contacted the front leg of Mr Butcher’s horse causing it to break for at least 4 strides. The films also show that Ms Chilcott used her whip at least once in angling her horse out. Whilst we agree that she did take corrective action as soon as contact was made by then it was too late as Mr Butcher’s horse had gone into a break and lost all chance. The Committee does not believe that immediately before moving outwards Ms Chilcott’s horse was lugging in and proving difficult to drive.
Mr Butcher said his horse had not pulled away as quickly as he would have expected but that is not a mitigating factor when considering the actions of Ms Chilcott – he had his rightful line of running taken by her and had she not moved out as she did his horse would not have gone into a break.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay noted that the JCA Penalty Guidelines state that the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine or a suspension of 6 drives. He said Ms Chilcott had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months but also that she had only recently returned to driving after a lengthy time away due to injury. He considered the severity of the interference to be in the low-mid range. He said the Stewards believed a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty.
Ms Chilcott thought that if the severity was rated in the low to mid range that a fine of $150 was a more appropriate penalty.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee considers the degree of carelessness exhibited by Ms Chilcott to be close to the mid range and notes she has not breached this Rule in the past 12 months albeit from limited driving opportunities due to her extended period away from driving. As pointed out by Mr Mulcay the JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine or a 6 drive suspension. However, a review of recent penalties for similar breaches shows a range of penalties have been given to drivers who have not breached this Rule within the previous 12 months with a fine of $250 or less having been given in the majority of cases.
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: 63ad7059d645433734c1e7093c1f7d6f
informantnumber: A7461
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Causing Interference
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 02/04/2015
hearing_title: Hawera HRC 6 April 2015 - R 2
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 2 the “Brian & Anna Clement Racing Stable Mobile Pace” Information A7461 was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr S Mulcay alleging a breach of Rule 869 (4) by Open Horseman Ms N Chilcott. The Information stated “in that horsewoman N Chilcott drove “Alta Surreal” in a manner which caused interference to “V C Dell (B Butcher) when shifting ground outwards with approximately 100m to run”. Ms Chilcott signed the Information indicating she did not admit the breach and confirmed this at the hearing and also that she understood the Rule under which she had been charged.
Rule 869 (4) states:- “No horseman shall during any race do anything which interferes or is likely to interfere with his own horse and/or any other horse or its progress”.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Using the side-on film at approximately the 300m mark Mr Muirhead highlighted Ms Chilcott running 1 out and 1 back with Mr Butcher to the outside of and behind Ms Chilcott. Mr Muirhead said as the horses progressed down the straight Ms Chilcott moved out approximately 2.5 to 3 cart widths and made contact with, and checked the progress of, Mr Butcher and “V C Dell”.
Mr Mulcay said that “Alta Surreal” had lugged in coming round the bend into the straight and using the head-on film of the incident said Ms Chilcott had come off the back of the horse in front of her but in moving out had contacted the leg of Mr Butcher’s horse. Mr Mulcay it was a long established principle that the driver of a horse shifting ground must do so in a safe manner without causing interference to any other runner or itself and this had not occurred on this occasion.
Mr Butcher was called as a witness for Mr Mulcay and was asked why his horse galloped briefly with approximately 100m to run. He said Ms Chilcott was to his inside and had an advantage over him but she moved out quickly and he was unable to pull his horse wider which resulted in the contact between her sulky wheel and his horse’s leg. Mr Mulcay asked Mr Butcher if he felt his horse had contributed to the incident and he said that his horse had not pulled away from Ms Chilcott as quickly as he had expected. Mr Butcher also confirmed to Mr Mulcay that he was also unable to move further out due to there being a horse on his outside at the time of the incident.
Mrs Chilcott asked Mr Butcher asked to confirm that as he saw her moving out he tried to turn his horse away but was unable to do so. Mr Butcher confirmed this was correct. She asked him if he thought the incident occurred because she drove into him or that it was a case of her horse racing greenly. He replied saying that he thought her horse was racing greenly.
Mrs Chilcott played the films from the top of the straight and said that her horse had given her a difficult drive in what was only its second start. She asked Mr Muirhead to confirm that was the case and he agreed that at that point of the race (approximately 200m before the incident occurred) her horse was lugging in. She said as she progressed down the straight her horse was still proving difficult to drive and running in and as she angled him out for a run he over reacted and ducked out sharply. She said she immediately straightened up, had not continued outwards and done everything she possibly could to keep her horse in a straight line.
Mr Mulcay asked Ms Chilcott to confirm that in coming off the back of the horse in front she had used the whip and she confirmed that was the case. He put it to her that a more cautious approach would have been to have had better control of the horse and not have used the whip. Ms Chilcott did not agree saying that even though she had both reins in her left hand she was in control of the horse and had immediately straightened after contacting Mr Butcher’s horse.
To a question from the Committee Ms Chilcott said that Mr Butcher’s horse broke because her sulky wheel had contacted his horse’s front leg after her horse had ducked out quickly.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee has reviewed the films of the incident and listened to the submissions of all parties. It is clear that approaching the 100m mark Ms Chilcott has angled her horse outwards approximately 3 horse widths quite sharply and taken the line of Mr Butcher. In doing so her sulky wheel has contacted the front leg of Mr Butcher’s horse causing it to break for at least 4 strides. The films also show that Ms Chilcott used her whip at least once in angling her horse out. Whilst we agree that she did take corrective action as soon as contact was made by then it was too late as Mr Butcher’s horse had gone into a break and lost all chance. The Committee does not believe that immediately before moving outwards Ms Chilcott’s horse was lugging in and proving difficult to drive.
Mr Butcher said his horse had not pulled away as quickly as he would have expected but that is not a mitigating factor when considering the actions of Ms Chilcott – he had his rightful line of running taken by her and had she not moved out as she did his horse would not have gone into a break.
Decision:
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay noted that the JCA Penalty Guidelines state that the starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine or a suspension of 6 drives. He said Ms Chilcott had not breached this Rule in the previous 12 months but also that she had only recently returned to driving after a lengthy time away due to injury. He considered the severity of the interference to be in the low-mid range. He said the Stewards believed a fine of $200 was an appropriate penalty.
Ms Chilcott thought that if the severity was rated in the low to mid range that a fine of $150 was a more appropriate penalty.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee considers the degree of carelessness exhibited by Ms Chilcott to be close to the mid range and notes she has not breached this Rule in the past 12 months albeit from limited driving opportunities due to her extended period away from driving. As pointed out by Mr Mulcay the JCA’s Penalty Guidelines state a starting point for a breach of this Rule is a $300 fine or a 6 drive suspension. However, a review of recent penalties for similar breaches shows a range of penalties have been given to drivers who have not breached this Rule within the previous 12 months with a fine of $250 or less having been given in the majority of cases.
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(4)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms N Chilcott - Open Horsewoman
Otherperson: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward, Mr B Butcher - Junior Horseman
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 16388d0db460d8e6c4ec1ff80e045038
race_expapproval:
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race_emailed1: 0
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race_title: R2
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meetdate: 06/04/2015
meet_title: Hawera HRC - 6 April 2015
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meet_chair: PWilliams
meet_pm1: TUtikere
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name: Hawera HRC