Matamata RC 22 February 2020 – R 8 – Chair, Mr G Jones
ID: JCA15156
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Matamata RC - 22 February 2020
Meet Chair:
GJones
Meet Committee Member 1:
ADooley
Race Date:
2020/02/22
Race Number:
R 8
Decision:
As Mr Oliver admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
Penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Oliver was granted a 7 day deferment and his license was suspended from 1 March to 11 March 2020 (inclusive).
Facts:
This charge arises from race 8, the Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (Listed Race). An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr B Jones, alleging that Mr Oliver used his whip excessively prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Oliver said that he understood the Rule and confirmed he admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-unnecessary, or
(ii)-excessive, or
(iii)-improper
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)-The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)-The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)- The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Using available race film footage Ms Algar demonstrated the breach. She identified that Mr Oliver struck his mount (BULLY BOY) 3 times between the 600 and 500 metre mark. She said that in the home straight up to the 100 metre mark Mr Oliver struck his mount a further 6 times.
In response Mr Oliver advised the Committee that his mount was racing “off the bridle” during the mid-stages of the race and he used his whip at the 600 metre mark to keep in contention. He added that in the home straight he was not aware of the 100 metre marker position.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Jones said that Mr Oliver had a clear record under this Rule. He said that although Mr Oliver used his whip 9 times the strikes were well spaced and none were excessively forceful. He said that an aggravating feature of the breach was that it occurred in a $50,000 Listed race.
Mr Oliver submitted that he would prefer a “heavy” fine as opposed to a suspension as he is just getting established as a rider in New Zealand. He added that if a suspension was proposed a 7 day deferment was sought.
Reasons for Penalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends that where the breach occurs in a Group or Feature race and the number of strikes is 4 or more than the permitted 5 the starting point is a 6 day suspension plus a fine at the Committee’s discretion up to the rider’s percentage of prize money. On that basis we adopted this as our starting point.
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented, in particular the number and frequency of strikes as well as the force used. In doing so the Committee confirmed the number of strikes (9) and noted that they were not for the most part forceful. Further, 3 of strikes were near the 600 metres and the remainder in the home straight. They were therefore well spaced.
Although Mr Oliver admitted the breach and he has a clear record under the rule there are no exceptional circumstances in mitigation justifying a discount from the Penalty Guide starting point. An aggravating factor is that this breach occurred in a Listed race with stakemoney of $50,000 and this is reflected in the starting point. As Mr Oliver’s mount finished out of the placings, in the exercise of our discretion we determined the breach did not require a fine in addition to a suspension.
We suspend Mr Oliver for 6 national days.
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: 70b9d9077be566e8dc123d951c0bf0ea
informantnumber: A12913
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive use of whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 23/02/2020
hearing_title: Matamata RC 22 February 2020 – R 8 – Chair, Mr G Jones
charge:
facts:
This charge arises from race 8, the Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (Listed Race). An Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii) by the Informant, Mr B Jones, alleging that Mr Oliver used his whip excessively prior to the 100 metres.
Mr Oliver said that he understood the Rule and confirmed he admitted the breach.
Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides:
A Rider shall not strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is:
(i)-unnecessary, or
(ii)-excessive, or
(iii)-improper
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b), a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:
Flat Races
Prior to the 100-metre mark in a race, official trial or jump out:
(i)-The whip should not be used on more than 5 occasions.
(ii)-The whip should not be used in consecutive strides.
(iii)- The rider may at their discretion use the whip with a slapping motion down the shoulder, with the whip hand remaining on the reins.
In the final 100 metres, the whip may be used at the Rider’s discretion.
Using available race film footage Ms Algar demonstrated the breach. She identified that Mr Oliver struck his mount (BULLY BOY) 3 times between the 600 and 500 metre mark. She said that in the home straight up to the 100 metre mark Mr Oliver struck his mount a further 6 times.
In response Mr Oliver advised the Committee that his mount was racing “off the bridle” during the mid-stages of the race and he used his whip at the 600 metre mark to keep in contention. He added that in the home straight he was not aware of the 100 metre marker position.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
As Mr Oliver admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Jones said that Mr Oliver had a clear record under this Rule. He said that although Mr Oliver used his whip 9 times the strikes were well spaced and none were excessively forceful. He said that an aggravating feature of the breach was that it occurred in a $50,000 Listed race.
Mr Oliver submitted that he would prefer a “heavy” fine as opposed to a suspension as he is just getting established as a rider in New Zealand. He added that if a suspension was proposed a 7 day deferment was sought.
reasonsforpenalty:
The JCA Penalty Guide recommends that where the breach occurs in a Group or Feature race and the number of strikes is 4 or more than the permitted 5 the starting point is a 6 day suspension plus a fine at the Committee’s discretion up to the rider’s percentage of prize money. On that basis we adopted this as our starting point.
The Committee considered all the evidence and submissions presented, in particular the number and frequency of strikes as well as the force used. In doing so the Committee confirmed the number of strikes (9) and noted that they were not for the most part forceful. Further, 3 of strikes were near the 600 metres and the remainder in the home straight. They were therefore well spaced.
Although Mr Oliver admitted the breach and he has a clear record under the rule there are no exceptional circumstances in mitigation justifying a discount from the Penalty Guide starting point. An aggravating factor is that this breach occurred in a Listed race with stakemoney of $50,000 and this is reflected in the starting point. As Mr Oliver’s mount finished out of the placings, in the exercise of our discretion we determined the breach did not require a fine in addition to a suspension.
We suspend Mr Oliver for 6 national days.
penalty:
Accordingly, Mr Oliver was granted a 7 day deferment and his license was suspended from 1 March to 11 March 2020 (inclusive).
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: R638(3)(b)(ii)
Informant: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr R Oliver - Rider of BULLY BOY
Otherperson: Ms V Algar (Stipendiary Steward)
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 378fc422f02b82535fe5eb8c9728136d
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 8
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: b6c180ec74ff6deb2b835c2d3fdf5f36
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 22/02/2020
meet_title: Matamata RC - 22 February 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: matamata-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GJones
meet_pm1: ADooley
meet_pm2: none
name: Matamata RC