Hawkes Bay RI 4 October 2014 – R 7
ID: JCA15107
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Hawkes Bay RI - 4 October 2014
Meet Chair:
NMoffatt
Meet Committee Member 1:
TUtikere
Race Date:
2014/10/04
Race Number:
R 7
Decision:
The evidence submitted by the Stipendiary Stewards was insufficient to meet the threshold required to prove Mr Riddell's carelessness in relation to this matter. Accordingly, the charge was dismissed.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Trinity Hill Homage Handicap, an information was lodged by Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged that J Riddell (ROCKY) allowed his mount to shift inwards near the 1600m tightening VIEW, JIMMY HOFFA, KENTUCKY SON and JIMMY MAC.
Mr Neal read out the careless riding rule and Mr Riddell acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge. He confirmed to the committee that he did not admit the breach and advised he would be calling Mr R Hutchings as a witness.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Neal asked Mr Oatham to show the films and explain the incident. Mr Oatham used three different camera angles to identify the runners involved and highlight the case to the committee. Mr Riddell was in a five-wide position as he progressed towards the crossing near the 1600m. Behind him was a line of four other runners in the following positions; four-deep Mr Colgan (VIEW), three-deep Mr S McKay (JIMMY HOFFA), two-deep Mr Hutchings (KENTUCKY SON) and adjacent to the running rail Mr D Bradley (JIMMY MAC).
Mr Oatham alleged that as Mr Riddell went over the crossing he moved inwards, when only half to three quarters of a length clear of Mr Colgan, forcing that horse inwards onto the other runners causing crowding and tightening. Mr Oatham said Mr Riddell took corrective action but only after the interference had occurred.
Mr Oatham then explained the lead up to the incident which showed Mr Hutchings' mount over-racing and running away from the fence as it headed into the first bend. This allowed a gap to open up on the fence, which Mr Bradley quickly moved into, creating a line of four horses where previously there had been three. Mr Oatham said Mr Bradley had every right to push up into the gap that presented on the fence and his actions had no bearing on the interference that occurred soon after.
Mr Riddell had no questions of Mr Oatham’s interpretation of the films.
Mr Neal called Mr Colgan, the rider of VIEW, as a witness. Mr Colgan confirmed he had been forced to check his mount but said he received pressure from both the outside and inside. He said while Mr Riddell had “made it tight” the horses to his inside had not helped the situation. JIMMY HOFFA, who was next to him on his inside, was out of control for rider Mr S McKay and that horse got onto his hind quarters and turned him sideways. Mr Colgan remained firm in his assertions that the horses to his inside had contributed to the tightening.
Mr Riddell was invited to put his case to the committee. He said there were clear mitigating circumstances including Mr Bradley taking a “cheeky run” on the fence, Mr Hutchings' horse racing ungenerously, the strong tempo of the race going into the corner and his horse dropping inwards as it hit the rough ground on the crossing. Mr Riddell said once he heard Mr Colgan call he immediately straightened his mount to try and relieve the pressure. Mr Riddell believed that Mr Bradley’s actions when he pushed up into the gap on the fence had caused some of the tightening.
Mr Riddell called Mr Hutchings, the rider of KENTUCKY SON, as his witness. Mr Hutchings said that he was in a bit of trouble trying to get his horse around the corner and as a result had moved off the fence. He tried to relieve the pressure by going back to the fence but could not do so due to Mr Bradley having moved up into that position.
Mr Neal summed up the case for the Stewards saying that Mr Riddell shifted inwards when not sufficiently clear placing Mr Colgan in an invidious position. Due to the already tight racing positions there was no opportunity for the other riders to relieve the resultant pressure. The Stewards did not accept that any other runner contributed to the interference.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee had careful regard to all of the submissions and evidence placed before it, and spent considerable time closely reviewing all of the available films at both normal speed and stride by stride. We formed the view, based on our independent assessment of the available films, and the specific evidence placed before the committee, the tightening to VIEW, JIMMY HOFFA, KENTUCKY SON and JIMMY MAC could not be wholly attributed to the actions of Mr Riddell. We were satisfied that there were a number of factors at the time that collectively lead to the incident near the 1600 metre mark.
The committee identified these specific factors as; the racing manners of the horses concerned immediately prior to the point of crossing (specifically that Mr Hutchings' and Mr McKay's mounts were racing ungenerously at that time); the pace of runners at that early stage of the race; the fact that runners were going into a bend and that it was at the point of the crossing. The committee also considered that Mr Riddell took action as soon as he was called to from Mr Colgan as a result of the tightening.
The specific evidence of the witnesses called (Mssrs Colgan and Hutchings) was consistent in relation to the suggestion that some pressure also came from those runners located to their inside. Mr Colgan specifically referred to Mr McKay, who was racing to his inside, as a "kid out of control". When asked by Mr Neal to qualify why he believed Mr McKay had made his (Mr Colgan's) ride difficult, he stated that Mr McKay got into his hindquarters which turned him sideways.
Mr Hutchings stated that movement from Mr Bradley to his inside had forced all runners to the outside into a bit of trouble, and that he had tried to relieve some of the pressure from Mr Bradley's mount. This is consistent with the argument that Mr Riddell consistently advanced, even under questioning from Nr Neal. Mr Hutchings' evidence also supported Mr Riddell's view. He had also identified that there was some difficulty with the camera angles, to which Mr Neal agreed, and as such the committee must therefore also rely on the evidence of those involved, and not simply on the available films. The Stipendiary Stewards did not provide specific evidence from other witnesses (such as Mr McKay or Mr Bradley) to refute the extent to which those racing to the inside of Mr Colgan also played a contributing part in the incident.
Based on the information placed before it, the Judicial Committee was not satisfied that the interference was solely related to Mr Riddell in isolation.
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: 69bd0b46c30fcebd9713107d51dd13a7
informantnumber: A3321
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Riding
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 0
decisiondate: 03/10/2014
hearing_title: Hawkes Bay RI 4 October 2014 - R 7
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 7, Trinity Hill Homage Handicap, an information was lodged by Mr R Neal alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d). The information alleged that J Riddell (ROCKY) allowed his mount to shift inwards near the 1600m tightening VIEW, JIMMY HOFFA, KENTUCKY SON and JIMMY MAC.
Mr Neal read out the careless riding rule and Mr Riddell acknowledged he understood the nature of the charge. He confirmed to the committee that he did not admit the breach and advised he would be calling Mr R Hutchings as a witness.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Neal asked Mr Oatham to show the films and explain the incident. Mr Oatham used three different camera angles to identify the runners involved and highlight the case to the committee. Mr Riddell was in a five-wide position as he progressed towards the crossing near the 1600m. Behind him was a line of four other runners in the following positions; four-deep Mr Colgan (VIEW), three-deep Mr S McKay (JIMMY HOFFA), two-deep Mr Hutchings (KENTUCKY SON) and adjacent to the running rail Mr D Bradley (JIMMY MAC).
Mr Oatham alleged that as Mr Riddell went over the crossing he moved inwards, when only half to three quarters of a length clear of Mr Colgan, forcing that horse inwards onto the other runners causing crowding and tightening. Mr Oatham said Mr Riddell took corrective action but only after the interference had occurred.
Mr Oatham then explained the lead up to the incident which showed Mr Hutchings' mount over-racing and running away from the fence as it headed into the first bend. This allowed a gap to open up on the fence, which Mr Bradley quickly moved into, creating a line of four horses where previously there had been three. Mr Oatham said Mr Bradley had every right to push up into the gap that presented on the fence and his actions had no bearing on the interference that occurred soon after.
Mr Riddell had no questions of Mr Oatham’s interpretation of the films.
Mr Neal called Mr Colgan, the rider of VIEW, as a witness. Mr Colgan confirmed he had been forced to check his mount but said he received pressure from both the outside and inside. He said while Mr Riddell had “made it tight” the horses to his inside had not helped the situation. JIMMY HOFFA, who was next to him on his inside, was out of control for rider Mr S McKay and that horse got onto his hind quarters and turned him sideways. Mr Colgan remained firm in his assertions that the horses to his inside had contributed to the tightening.
Mr Riddell was invited to put his case to the committee. He said there were clear mitigating circumstances including Mr Bradley taking a “cheeky run” on the fence, Mr Hutchings' horse racing ungenerously, the strong tempo of the race going into the corner and his horse dropping inwards as it hit the rough ground on the crossing. Mr Riddell said once he heard Mr Colgan call he immediately straightened his mount to try and relieve the pressure. Mr Riddell believed that Mr Bradley’s actions when he pushed up into the gap on the fence had caused some of the tightening.
Mr Riddell called Mr Hutchings, the rider of KENTUCKY SON, as his witness. Mr Hutchings said that he was in a bit of trouble trying to get his horse around the corner and as a result had moved off the fence. He tried to relieve the pressure by going back to the fence but could not do so due to Mr Bradley having moved up into that position.
Mr Neal summed up the case for the Stewards saying that Mr Riddell shifted inwards when not sufficiently clear placing Mr Colgan in an invidious position. Due to the already tight racing positions there was no opportunity for the other riders to relieve the resultant pressure. The Stewards did not accept that any other runner contributed to the interference.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee had careful regard to all of the submissions and evidence placed before it, and spent considerable time closely reviewing all of the available films at both normal speed and stride by stride. We formed the view, based on our independent assessment of the available films, and the specific evidence placed before the committee, the tightening to VIEW, JIMMY HOFFA, KENTUCKY SON and JIMMY MAC could not be wholly attributed to the actions of Mr Riddell. We were satisfied that there were a number of factors at the time that collectively lead to the incident near the 1600 metre mark.
The committee identified these specific factors as; the racing manners of the horses concerned immediately prior to the point of crossing (specifically that Mr Hutchings' and Mr McKay's mounts were racing ungenerously at that time); the pace of runners at that early stage of the race; the fact that runners were going into a bend and that it was at the point of the crossing. The committee also considered that Mr Riddell took action as soon as he was called to from Mr Colgan as a result of the tightening.
The specific evidence of the witnesses called (Mssrs Colgan and Hutchings) was consistent in relation to the suggestion that some pressure also came from those runners located to their inside. Mr Colgan specifically referred to Mr McKay, who was racing to his inside, as a "kid out of control". When asked by Mr Neal to qualify why he believed Mr McKay had made his (Mr Colgan's) ride difficult, he stated that Mr McKay got into his hindquarters which turned him sideways.
Mr Hutchings stated that movement from Mr Bradley to his inside had forced all runners to the outside into a bit of trouble, and that he had tried to relieve some of the pressure from Mr Bradley's mount. This is consistent with the argument that Mr Riddell consistently advanced, even under questioning from Nr Neal. Mr Hutchings' evidence also supported Mr Riddell's view. He had also identified that there was some difficulty with the camera angles, to which Mr Neal agreed, and as such the committee must therefore also rely on the evidence of those involved, and not simply on the available films. The Stipendiary Stewards did not provide specific evidence from other witnesses (such as Mr McKay or Mr Bradley) to refute the extent to which those racing to the inside of Mr Colgan also played a contributing part in the incident.
Based on the information placed before it, the Judicial Committee was not satisfied that the interference was solely related to Mr Riddell in isolation.
Decision:
The evidence submitted by the Stipendiary Stewards was insufficient to meet the threshold required to prove Mr Riddell's carelessness in relation to this matter. Accordingly, the charge was dismissed.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant: Mr R Neal - Co-Chief Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr J Riddell - Licensed Rider, Mr V Colgan - Licensed Rider, Mr R Hutchings - Apprentice Rider
Otherperson: Mr J Oatham - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 13272ab45a4efd80e52a8dbef5c23ce9
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 7
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: c459ccf79b6c6ddf098628a7569d037b
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 04/10/2014
meet_title: Hawkes Bay RI - 4 October 2014
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: hawkes-bay-ri
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: NMoffatt
meet_pm1: TUtikere
meet_pm2: none
name: Hawkes Bay RI