HR Waikato 24 December 2016 – R 8 – Chair, Mr A Dooley
ID: JCA12431
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 24 December 2016
Meet Chair:
ADooley
Meet Committee Member 1:
PWilliams
Race Date:
2016/12/24
Race Number:
R8
Decision:
As Mr Williams admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.
Penalty:
The Committee grant Mr Williams request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1304 (1).
SUSPENSIONS 1304 (1) Every suspension of a horseman or a horseman’s licence imposed by a Judicial Committee during any day of a race meeting shall take effect as follows:
(a) on the completion of the horseman's driving engagements on the day the suspension is imposed if at that time the horseman has no engagements to drive a horse in a betting race during the next seven days; or
(b) if on the day the suspension is imposed the horseman has engagements to drive a horse in a betting race during the next seven days then from the earlier of:
(i) the completion of such engagements within that seven day period; or
(ii) (ii) the completion of that seven day period.
Accordingly, Mr Williams had his horseman’s license suspended for a period to commence after racing on 31 December 2016 and conclude after racing on 11 January 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
6 - January Cambridge
8 - January Rangiora
11 - January Oamaru
Facts:
Following the running of race 8, Group One Turf Bar Trotters Flying Mile (Mobile Group 2 race), an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Mulcay, alleged that Mr Williams shifted QUITE A MOMENT inwards near the 1250 metres when not sufficiently clear and contacted the off foreleg of SCARRYMCLEARY causing that gelding to break losing all chance.
Mr Williams acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that Mr Williams was racing in a 3 wide position near the 1250 metres when he allowed QUITE A MOMENT to shift inwards. He said this resulted in that runner making contact with the off foreleg of SCARRYMCLEARY causing that horse to blunder and break losing all chance.
Mr Mulcay acknowledged that Mr Dickie the Driver of SCARRYMCLEARY was at the time of the interference in the process of restraining his horse to allow Mr Williams to shift inwards.
Mr Williams said that Mr Dickie was restraining his horse when he was checked into a gallop. Mr Williams said he was cautious when shifting in because he was aware Mr Dickie was racing on his inside and slightly behind him. Mr Williams stated that he got it wrong and there was only 1 stride in it when QUITE A MOMENT’s sulky wheel made contact with SCARRYMCLEARY’s off foreleg.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Williams had a clear record under this Rule in the last 12 months and advised that he has had 53 drives so far this season and 184 drives the previous season. He made reference to the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a 3 day suspension as the starting point for a careless driving in major race. He said the degree of culpability was low range and Mr Williams should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his co-operation with the Stewards. He stated the obvious aggravating fact was the incident resulted in SACRRYMCLEAY losing its chance in the Group 2 race.
Mr Williams submitted that he would prefer a fine over a suspension.
In answer to a question from the Committee, Mr Williams said that he would have some engagements at Alexandra Park on 31 December. Once the Committee explained Rule 1304 (1) to Mr Williams he sought a 7 day deferment to any proposed suspension.
When tested by the Committee, Mr Williams was forthright in that he had no intention of driving at Tauherenikau or Central Otago on 2 January, Roxburgh on 4 January, New Plymouth on 5 January and Cromwell on 7 January.
Reasons for Penalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving in a major race ($40,000 or more) is a 3 day suspension. This is adjusted based on mitigating and aggravating factors.
The mitigating factors were Mr Williams’ admission of the breach and his very good record. We assessed the level of carelessness was towards the low end of the scale. The films show that Mr Williams’ inward manoeuvre was gradual however he did not have a clear advantage over Mr Dickie’s drive. This resulted in SCARRYMCLEARY breaking and having its chance extinguished early in the race when the geldings off foreleg was struck by QUITE A MOMENT’S sulky wheel. The other notable aggravating fact was the incident occurred in a Group 2 race worth $50,000.
After taking into account all the above the Committee considered an appropriate and meaningful penalty was a 3 day suspension.
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: 5b53aa8770c4f0a0ca99f5736f84bee4
informantnumber: A3747
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 25/12/2016
hearing_title: HR Waikato 24 December 2016 - R 8 - Chair, Mr A Dooley
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 8, Group One Turf Bar Trotters Flying Mile (Mobile Group 2 race), an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 869(3)(b). The Informant, Mr Mulcay, alleged that Mr Williams shifted QUITE A MOMENT inwards near the 1250 metres when not sufficiently clear and contacted the off foreleg of SCARRYMCLEARY causing that gelding to break losing all chance.
Mr Williams acknowledged that he understood the Rule and confirmed his admission of the breach.
Rule 869(3)(b) provides : No horseman in any race shall drive carelessly.
Mr Mulcay demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified that Mr Williams was racing in a 3 wide position near the 1250 metres when he allowed QUITE A MOMENT to shift inwards. He said this resulted in that runner making contact with the off foreleg of SCARRYMCLEARY causing that horse to blunder and break losing all chance.
Mr Mulcay acknowledged that Mr Dickie the Driver of SCARRYMCLEARY was at the time of the interference in the process of restraining his horse to allow Mr Williams to shift inwards.
Mr Williams said that Mr Dickie was restraining his horse when he was checked into a gallop. Mr Williams said he was cautious when shifting in because he was aware Mr Dickie was racing on his inside and slightly behind him. Mr Williams stated that he got it wrong and there was only 1 stride in it when QUITE A MOMENT’s sulky wheel made contact with SCARRYMCLEARY’s off foreleg.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Williams admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay said that Mr Williams had a clear record under this Rule in the last 12 months and advised that he has had 53 drives so far this season and 184 drives the previous season. He made reference to the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a 3 day suspension as the starting point for a careless driving in major race. He said the degree of culpability was low range and Mr Williams should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his co-operation with the Stewards. He stated the obvious aggravating fact was the incident resulted in SACRRYMCLEAY losing its chance in the Group 2 race.
Mr Williams submitted that he would prefer a fine over a suspension.
In answer to a question from the Committee, Mr Williams said that he would have some engagements at Alexandra Park on 31 December. Once the Committee explained Rule 1304 (1) to Mr Williams he sought a 7 day deferment to any proposed suspension.
When tested by the Committee, Mr Williams was forthright in that he had no intention of driving at Tauherenikau or Central Otago on 2 January, Roxburgh on 4 January, New Plymouth on 5 January and Cromwell on 7 January.
reasonsforpenalty:
The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees recommends that the starting point for careless driving in a major race ($40,000 or more) is a 3 day suspension. This is adjusted based on mitigating and aggravating factors.
The mitigating factors were Mr Williams’ admission of the breach and his very good record. We assessed the level of carelessness was towards the low end of the scale. The films show that Mr Williams’ inward manoeuvre was gradual however he did not have a clear advantage over Mr Dickie’s drive. This resulted in SCARRYMCLEARY breaking and having its chance extinguished early in the race when the geldings off foreleg was struck by QUITE A MOMENT’S sulky wheel. The other notable aggravating fact was the incident occurred in a Group 2 race worth $50,000.
After taking into account all the above the Committee considered an appropriate and meaningful penalty was a 3 day suspension.
penalty:
The Committee grant Mr Williams request to seek a deferment to his suspension as per Rule 1304 (1).
SUSPENSIONS 1304 (1) Every suspension of a horseman or a horseman’s licence imposed by a Judicial Committee during any day of a race meeting shall take effect as follows:
(a) on the completion of the horseman's driving engagements on the day the suspension is imposed if at that time the horseman has no engagements to drive a horse in a betting race during the next seven days; or
(b) if on the day the suspension is imposed the horseman has engagements to drive a horse in a betting race during the next seven days then from the earlier of:
(i) the completion of such engagements within that seven day period; or
(ii) (ii) the completion of that seven day period.
Accordingly, Mr Williams had his horseman’s license suspended for a period to commence after racing on 31 December 2016 and conclude after racing on 11 January 2017 (3 days).
That period of suspension encompasses meetings at
6 - January Cambridge
8 - January Rangiora
11 - January Oamaru
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Senior Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr T Williams - Driver of QUITE A MOMENT
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 9a3e7546396d184822467ae524610fb3
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R8
submittochair:
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meetid: 8a16acab4e4bbf1700d5127590e63f36
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meetdate: 24/12/2016
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 24 December 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
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tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: ADooley
meet_pm1: PWilliams
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato