Invercargill HRC 27 April 2019 – R 3 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA11702
Meet Title:
Invercargill HRC - 27 April 2019
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
MConway
Race Date:
2019/04/27
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
The breach of r 868(3) is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr May is fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of race 3, the WILLIAMSON RACING STABLES HANDICAP TROT, Mr Renault lodged an information alleging that Mr May (SMOKEY MAC) failed to drive his horse out to the finish of the race when having a reasonable chance of finishing fourth.
Rule 868(3) provides: “Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has any reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth.”
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Renault used the side-on and head-on films and also the back-straight angle. The head-on was not of a great deal of assistance and he relied principally on the side-on and back-straight films. The side-on film demonstrated that shortly after the field entered the home straight SMOKEY MAC was passed by WAR ADMIRAL and the horse continued to race in 4th position until it was overtaken by JEN JACCKA some 10 metres or two strides from the line. Mr Renault confirmed for the Committee that the official margin between 4th and 5th was a head.
Mr Renault stated that prior to the 40 metres Mr May was pushing and urging his horse. Just after the horse had turned for home, he flicked SMOKEY MAC with the whip three times. He stopped using the whip from that point and continued to urge the horse with the reins. He demonstrated on the back-straight film that Mr May relaxed his arms at about the 40 metres. His hands could be seen to demonstrably drop and he believed that Mr May stopped driving his horse. In the last 10 metres SMOKEY MAC was passed by JEN JACCKA, which finished 4th. As to whether Mr May had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th, he said SMOKEY MAC was holding 4th until the last two strides.
Mr May stated that SMOKEY MAC was a tired horse at the finish, and he could be seen on the films to be losing ground on the 3rd horse as the horses progressed up the straight. He said SMOKEY MAC was a “rogue” and was going slower and slower and he was kidding to the horse with the reins. He believed JEN JACCKA was always going to beat SMOKEY MAC for 4th. The more he urged SMOKEY MAC the slower the horse got. The horse had run in towards the markers at one point in the straight and this was a sign that it was tired. He believed it “did not make a stitch of difference what [he] did”.
Mr May continued by stating that just after the field turned for home, he flicked SMOKEY MAC three times with the whip and got no response to the whip at that time. He said this backed up the trainer’s words to him before the race to the effect that the horse would not respond to the whip. He was urging the horse with the reins, but it got slower and slower. He said the track was quite trying and the horse was dead tired. He reiterated that the horse running towards the pylons was proof of this. He said the films were poor and it was hard to tell what he was doing in the last 40 metres, but he thought he was still urging SMOKEY MAC. The horse was flat. He agreed he had put his arms down, but he did not believe that that had made any difference to the result.
Mr Renault summed up by stating that the Stewards’ case was that Mr May had not driven SMOKEY MAC out over the last 40 metres. A driver must be seen to be displaying some discernible movement. Mr May could not be seen to be driving SMOKEY MAC out. When Mr May had stopped driving, SMOKEY MAC was in 4th place and had been in 4th for some time. The horse had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th but had finished 5th. The horse’s connections and those punters that had invested on the First 4 had been affected. He emphasised the issue was not whether SMOKEY MAC would have run 4th but whether it had a reasonable chance of so doing.
Mr May stated he believed SMOKEY MAC was going to get beaten for 4th anyway. He would have driven SMOKEY MAC out if it had had a chance of 4th. The horse was tired. The track was slushy. He knew the horse was beaten and he thought he had tried everything until the last bit, but Mr Williamson was always going to beat him. He had 40 years’ experience; he was trying to get 4th.
Mr Renault responded that the Stewards were not alleging that Mr May’s actions were deliberate.
Mr May concluded his case by stating SMOKEY MAC had given its best. It had nothing more to give.
Reasons for Decision:
The films are not ideal. When Mr May goes out of shot on the side-on angle just before the 100 metres, he is urging SMOKEY MAC with the reins. When he re-appears on that film SMOKEY MAC is quite close to the line and it is clear that Mr May is just sitting quietly in the cart. Mr May is not urging or pushing SMOKEY MAC out to the line with the use of his hands and the reins. The back straight film clearly shows that Mr May has dropped his hands. We estimate, as has Mr Renault, that this is for the last 40 or so metres.
JEN JACCKA ran past SMOKEY MAC in the last couple of strides and JEN JACCKA finished 4th, a head in front of SMOKEY MAC.
Mr May has said SMOKEY MAC was a “rogue” and was going slower and slower in the home straight. However, he also said he believed the horse had given its best. He had used the whip early in the straight and got no response. The issue is one of perception. He has to be seen to be urging SMOKEY MAC in some manner. There are methods available to him other than the use of the whip.
We accept that SMOKEY MAC was a tired horse, and that Mr May’s actions were not deliberate, but he has to be doing something to urge SMOKEY MAC to the winning post when his horse had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th. Mr May did not.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record. This evidenced that Mr May had had 544 drives this season. His record is clear under this rule.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is $400 or 8 drives. Mr Renault submitted a fine of $400 was appropriate.
Mr May said a fine of $400 was “pretty steep”.
Reasons for Penalty:
We have regard to the $400 starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide. We see no reason to uplift this. Mr May’s drive up until the last 40 metres has rightfully not been questioned. It is his lack of urgings of the horse over the final 40 metres that has brought him foul of r 868(3).
Mr Renault at our request has perused Mr May’s record and the previous breach of this rule was in 2012. Mr May is a leading horseman and would have had a huge number of drives in this time. He should be given credit for this record. We have regard to this factor and that the breach was due to misjudgement in the context of testing track conditions and a tired horse.
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: 28ca86edeb60c9b57818e75f96827af8
informantnumber: A12495
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failed to drive his horse out to the finish of the race when having a reasonable chance of finishing fourth
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/04/2019
hearing_title: Invercargill HRC 27 April 2019 - R 3 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race 3, the WILLIAMSON RACING STABLES HANDICAP TROT, Mr Renault lodged an information alleging that Mr May (SMOKEY MAC) failed to drive his horse out to the finish of the race when having a reasonable chance of finishing fourth.
Rule 868(3) provides: “Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has any reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth.”
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Renault used the side-on and head-on films and also the back-straight angle. The head-on was not of a great deal of assistance and he relied principally on the side-on and back-straight films. The side-on film demonstrated that shortly after the field entered the home straight SMOKEY MAC was passed by WAR ADMIRAL and the horse continued to race in 4th position until it was overtaken by JEN JACCKA some 10 metres or two strides from the line. Mr Renault confirmed for the Committee that the official margin between 4th and 5th was a head.
Mr Renault stated that prior to the 40 metres Mr May was pushing and urging his horse. Just after the horse had turned for home, he flicked SMOKEY MAC with the whip three times. He stopped using the whip from that point and continued to urge the horse with the reins. He demonstrated on the back-straight film that Mr May relaxed his arms at about the 40 metres. His hands could be seen to demonstrably drop and he believed that Mr May stopped driving his horse. In the last 10 metres SMOKEY MAC was passed by JEN JACCKA, which finished 4th. As to whether Mr May had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th, he said SMOKEY MAC was holding 4th until the last two strides.
Mr May stated that SMOKEY MAC was a tired horse at the finish, and he could be seen on the films to be losing ground on the 3rd horse as the horses progressed up the straight. He said SMOKEY MAC was a “rogue” and was going slower and slower and he was kidding to the horse with the reins. He believed JEN JACCKA was always going to beat SMOKEY MAC for 4th. The more he urged SMOKEY MAC the slower the horse got. The horse had run in towards the markers at one point in the straight and this was a sign that it was tired. He believed it “did not make a stitch of difference what [he] did”.
Mr May continued by stating that just after the field turned for home, he flicked SMOKEY MAC three times with the whip and got no response to the whip at that time. He said this backed up the trainer’s words to him before the race to the effect that the horse would not respond to the whip. He was urging the horse with the reins, but it got slower and slower. He said the track was quite trying and the horse was dead tired. He reiterated that the horse running towards the pylons was proof of this. He said the films were poor and it was hard to tell what he was doing in the last 40 metres, but he thought he was still urging SMOKEY MAC. The horse was flat. He agreed he had put his arms down, but he did not believe that that had made any difference to the result.
Mr Renault summed up by stating that the Stewards’ case was that Mr May had not driven SMOKEY MAC out over the last 40 metres. A driver must be seen to be displaying some discernible movement. Mr May could not be seen to be driving SMOKEY MAC out. When Mr May had stopped driving, SMOKEY MAC was in 4th place and had been in 4th for some time. The horse had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th but had finished 5th. The horse’s connections and those punters that had invested on the First 4 had been affected. He emphasised the issue was not whether SMOKEY MAC would have run 4th but whether it had a reasonable chance of so doing.
Mr May stated he believed SMOKEY MAC was going to get beaten for 4th anyway. He would have driven SMOKEY MAC out if it had had a chance of 4th. The horse was tired. The track was slushy. He knew the horse was beaten and he thought he had tried everything until the last bit, but Mr Williamson was always going to beat him. He had 40 years’ experience; he was trying to get 4th.
Mr Renault responded that the Stewards were not alleging that Mr May’s actions were deliberate.
Mr May concluded his case by stating SMOKEY MAC had given its best. It had nothing more to give.
reasonsfordecision:
The films are not ideal. When Mr May goes out of shot on the side-on angle just before the 100 metres, he is urging SMOKEY MAC with the reins. When he re-appears on that film SMOKEY MAC is quite close to the line and it is clear that Mr May is just sitting quietly in the cart. Mr May is not urging or pushing SMOKEY MAC out to the line with the use of his hands and the reins. The back straight film clearly shows that Mr May has dropped his hands. We estimate, as has Mr Renault, that this is for the last 40 or so metres.
JEN JACCKA ran past SMOKEY MAC in the last couple of strides and JEN JACCKA finished 4th, a head in front of SMOKEY MAC.
Mr May has said SMOKEY MAC was a “rogue” and was going slower and slower in the home straight. However, he also said he believed the horse had given its best. He had used the whip early in the straight and got no response. The issue is one of perception. He has to be seen to be urging SMOKEY MAC in some manner. There are methods available to him other than the use of the whip.
We accept that SMOKEY MAC was a tired horse, and that Mr May’s actions were not deliberate, but he has to be doing something to urge SMOKEY MAC to the winning post when his horse had a reasonable chance of finishing 4th. Mr May did not.
Decision:
The breach of r 868(3) is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault produced the respondent’s record. This evidenced that Mr May had had 544 drives this season. His record is clear under this rule.
The starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide is $400 or 8 drives. Mr Renault submitted a fine of $400 was appropriate.
Mr May said a fine of $400 was “pretty steep”.
reasonsforpenalty:
We have regard to the $400 starting point in the JCA Penalty Guide. We see no reason to uplift this. Mr May’s drive up until the last 40 metres has rightfully not been questioned. It is his lack of urgings of the horse over the final 40 metres that has brought him foul of r 868(3).
Mr Renault at our request has perused Mr May’s record and the previous breach of this rule was in 2012. Mr May is a leading horseman and would have had a huge number of drives in this time. He should be given credit for this record. We have regard to this factor and that the breach was due to misjudgement in the context of testing track conditions and a tired horse.
penalty:
Mr May is fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 868(3) - reasonable chance of running 4th
Informant: Mr Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R May - Open Horseman
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: ef5d7a78c1c1b77f111c7f2780d9ab1a
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race_title: R 3
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meetdate: 27/04/2019
meet_title: Invercargill HRC - 27 April 2019
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