HR Waikato 24 January 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Godsalve
ID: JCA17098
Meet Title:
Harness Racing Waikato - 24 January 2016
Meet Chair:
AGodsalve
Meet Committee Member 1:
BScott
Race Date:
2016/01/24
Race Number:
R 1
Decision:
The Committee was therefore satisfied that Mr Phillips had breached this Rule in that he had used his whip excessively and the charge was therefore proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly the Committee imposed a fine of $250 on Mr Phillips.
Facts:
Following the running of race 1, the CLASSIC CUSINE AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE an Information was laid alleging that Amateur Horseman Mr S Phillips used his whip excessively when driving EASY FOR CULLEN over the concluding stages of the race. EASY FOR CULLEN won the race over the distance of 1800 metres.
Mr Phillips was present at the hearing, and after acknowledging that he understood the Rule advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(2(a) states : ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'
Submissions for Decision:
Opening the evidence for the Informant, Mr Mulcay stated that the HRNZ Guidelines regarding whip use state that 'excessive' simply means 'too much' when referring to the number of times a horse is struck. The Guidelines also refer to the force used with whips.
Using the available films, Mr Muirhead identified the horse EASY FOR CULLEN driven by Mr Phillips. The horse was leading the field as it turned into the home straight, and from there until near the finish Mr Muirhead counted from the film that Mr Phillips had struck it 28 or 29 times. He told the Committee that striking any horse that number of times was 'unsatisfactory'.
Mr Mulcay stated that it appeared that Mr Phillips had struck the dust sheet twice early in the run home, and that he had changed his whip action. Mr Mulcay added that he believed the Stewards were not required to establish that Mr Phillips had actually struck the horse each time he used the whip, and added that it was the frequency of his whip use that had concerned the Stewards.
Mr Phillips told the Committee that he had used the whip on the dust sheet a number of times. He added that he used the whip on the horse's tail for between 50-75 metres before going back to striking the horse. He said he was of the belief that it was acceptable for a driver to change his whip action and for the 'count' of strikes to begin again.
In Summary Mr Mulcay repeated that the HRNZ Guidelines were that excessive use meant too much and/or force used when a driver struck his horse with the whip. He added that by striking EASY FOR CULLEN at least 28 times Mr Phillips had clearly breached the Rule.
Reasons for Decision:
The Committee took careful note of the submissions from all parties to this hearing. We independently viewed the films from side on and head on. It was noticiable that Mr Phillips was using his whip in different styles as he applied it to the horse. The Committee was satisfied that Mr Phillips had struck the horse at least 28 times, and while some of these strikes were not particuarly forceful, it was clear that the whip had made contact with the horse's body.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Mulcay produced Mr Phillips' driving record which showed no prior breaches of this Rule in the preceding 12 months. He added that the force Mr Phillips had used was not an issue, the number of strikes was the concerning factor. Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which shows a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension for this breach.
Mr Phillips stated that a number of the 'strikes' had not in fact hit the horse.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Phillips chose not to be present at the Penalty stage of this hearing.
The Committee accepts that Mr Phillips has a clear record under this Rule and this can be viewed as a mitigating factor.
Balanced against that however is the perception of the viewing public and it is clear that striking a horse at least 28 times leading up to the finish of a race is totally unacceptable. The fact that Mr Phillips changed his whip style, or that some of the strikes were not particularly hard is not material when it comes to assessing an appropriate penalty.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension. After checking other penalties imposed by Committees for similar breaches we believe this breach can be dealt with by way of a fine.
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: cc09601e81910ed87e58448a46aa5da8
informantnumber: A6513
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excess whip
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 27/01/2016
hearing_title: HR Waikato 24 January 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Godsalve
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 1, the CLASSIC CUSINE AMATEUR DRIVERS MOBILE PACE an Information was laid alleging that Amateur Horseman Mr S Phillips used his whip excessively when driving EASY FOR CULLEN over the concluding stages of the race. EASY FOR CULLEN won the race over the distance of 1800 metres.
Mr Phillips was present at the hearing, and after acknowledging that he understood the Rule advised the Committee that he did not admit the breach.
Rule 869(2(a) states : ' No horseman shall during any race use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner'
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Opening the evidence for the Informant, Mr Mulcay stated that the HRNZ Guidelines regarding whip use state that 'excessive' simply means 'too much' when referring to the number of times a horse is struck. The Guidelines also refer to the force used with whips.
Using the available films, Mr Muirhead identified the horse EASY FOR CULLEN driven by Mr Phillips. The horse was leading the field as it turned into the home straight, and from there until near the finish Mr Muirhead counted from the film that Mr Phillips had struck it 28 or 29 times. He told the Committee that striking any horse that number of times was 'unsatisfactory'.
Mr Mulcay stated that it appeared that Mr Phillips had struck the dust sheet twice early in the run home, and that he had changed his whip action. Mr Mulcay added that he believed the Stewards were not required to establish that Mr Phillips had actually struck the horse each time he used the whip, and added that it was the frequency of his whip use that had concerned the Stewards.
Mr Phillips told the Committee that he had used the whip on the dust sheet a number of times. He added that he used the whip on the horse's tail for between 50-75 metres before going back to striking the horse. He said he was of the belief that it was acceptable for a driver to change his whip action and for the 'count' of strikes to begin again.
In Summary Mr Mulcay repeated that the HRNZ Guidelines were that excessive use meant too much and/or force used when a driver struck his horse with the whip. He added that by striking EASY FOR CULLEN at least 28 times Mr Phillips had clearly breached the Rule.
reasonsfordecision:
The Committee took careful note of the submissions from all parties to this hearing. We independently viewed the films from side on and head on. It was noticiable that Mr Phillips was using his whip in different styles as he applied it to the horse. The Committee was satisfied that Mr Phillips had struck the horse at least 28 times, and while some of these strikes were not particuarly forceful, it was clear that the whip had made contact with the horse's body.
Decision:
The Committee was therefore satisfied that Mr Phillips had breached this Rule in that he had used his whip excessively and the charge was therefore proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Mulcay produced Mr Phillips' driving record which showed no prior breaches of this Rule in the preceding 12 months. He added that the force Mr Phillips had used was not an issue, the number of strikes was the concerning factor. Mr Mulcay referred to the JCA Penalty Guide which shows a starting point of a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension for this breach.
Mr Phillips stated that a number of the 'strikes' had not in fact hit the horse.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Phillips chose not to be present at the Penalty stage of this hearing.
The Committee accepts that Mr Phillips has a clear record under this Rule and this can be viewed as a mitigating factor.
Balanced against that however is the perception of the viewing public and it is clear that striking a horse at least 28 times leading up to the finish of a race is totally unacceptable. The fact that Mr Phillips changed his whip style, or that some of the strikes were not particularly hard is not material when it comes to assessing an appropriate penalty.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is a fine of $500 or a 2 day suspension. After checking other penalties imposed by Committees for similar breaches we believe this breach can be dealt with by way of a fine.
penalty:
Accordingly the Committee imposed a fine of $250 on Mr Phillips.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: Rule 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr S Mulcay - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Phillips - Amateur Horseman
Otherperson: Mr J Muirhead - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: b75cf256671a9dbffdd50455bce58ddd
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9e772b4b4d0f321d28198546227b678f
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 24/01/2016
meet_title: Harness Racing Waikato - 24 January 2016
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: harness-racing-waikato
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: AGodsalve
meet_pm1: BScott
meet_pm2: none
name: Harness Racing Waikato