Non Raceday Inquiry RIU v J J Fawcett – Decision dated 28 October 2016 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

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decisiondate: 31/10/2016

hearing_title: Non Raceday Inquiry RIU v J J Fawcett - Decision dated 28 October 2016 - Chair, Mr A Dooley

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Decision:

BEFORE A JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF

THE JUDICIAL CONTROL AUTHORITY

UNDER THE RACING ACT 2003

AND IN THE MATTER of the New Zealand Rules of Thoroughbred Racing

BETWEEN RACING INTEGRITY UNIT (RIU)

Informant

AND

Licensed Class B Jockey

Respondent JJ Fawcett

Information: A7888

Appearing: Mr A Coles – Stipendiary Steward

Mr J Oatham – Chief Stipendiary Steward

Ms J Fawcett – Apprentice Rider

Mr S Autridge – Trainer and employer representing Ms Fawcett

Date of hearing: 26 October 2016

Venue: Avondale Racecourse

Judicial Committee: Mr A Dooley, Chairman – Mr A Godsalve, Committee Member

Charge

The Informant, Stipendiary Steward, Mr A Coles alleged that on 12 October 2016 at a race meeting conducted by Whangarei Racing Club at Ruakaka in Race 2 Ms J Fawcett allowed her mount BABOONSKI to shift out passing the 1700 metres when not clear of ACEDECEE which was crowded, clipping a heel and blundered dislodging rider K McCulloch. An alleged breach of the New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing Rule 638(1)(d).

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Ms Fawcett acknowledged that she understood the nature of the charge and she admitted the breach.

The proposed procedure for the hearing was explained to Ms Fawcett and she had no concerns or objections.

Mr Coles produced a letter dated 21 October 2016 from Mr M Godber, General Manager for the Racing Integrity Unit, authorising the filing of the Information pursuant to Rule 903(2) (d).

Evidence

Mr Oatham demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified the affected horses and highlighted what barriers they had jumped from. He said initially Ms Fawcett was racing ½ to ¾ of a length inside Mrs McCulloch’s mount when it looked like she was going to take a hold of her mount. He identified that Ms Fawcett allowed her mount to improve to the inside of Mrs McCulloch passing the 1700 metres. He said that Ms Fawcett made an error of judgement in allowing her mount to shift outwards for a further 6 strides. This resulted in ACEDECEE clipping a heel and blundering dislodging Mrs McCulloch.

Mr Oatham stated that Ms Fawcett did not do enough to relieve the pressure on Mrs McCulloch. He said it appeared on the films that Ms Fawcett did not turn her mount’s head around when the horses turned into the corner.

Mr Oatham identified that in the early stages of the race EL FORTUNA was racing ungenerously and she did not make the bend very well. He said she shifted out and crowded Ms Fawcett’s mount into Mrs McCulloch prior to the incident.

Mr Oatham said another contributing factor was the fact that Mr Hutton was racing directly on the outside of Mrs McCulloch. Mr Hutton was in a 4 wide position with his horse’s head turned in and Mrs McCulloch had nowhere to go. He said this made Mrs McCulloch’s situation worse but he did not believe Mr Hutton got inside the 4 wide line he was racing on.

Mr Autridge advised the Committee that they had changed their plea from denied to admitted because he didn’t think they could prove 100% Ms Fawcett was not guilty of careless riding.

He pointed out on the films that Mrs Thornton’s and Mr Hutton’s mounts had contributed to the incident. He advised the Committee that Ms Fawcett has had only 33 rides to date and was still an inexperienced rider. He told the Committee that he had spoken to other jockeys that had ridden BABOONSKI previously and they both stated it was a difficult horse to ride. He believed it was hard to prove from the video films whether or not Ms Fawcett did anything to contribute to the incident. He said BABOONSKI decided it wasn’t going to the right, it wanted to go the left. He stated that for 6 strides BABOONSKI was going one way when the rider should have had it going the other way. He added that in his view Ms Fawcett didn’t fail to correct her mount.

Ms Fawcett said her mount was well positioned but she couldn’t pull her mount around. She advised that she had ridden BABOONSKI on heavy tracks and the mare was a totally different horse on a good track. She acknowledged that the horse was best suited to a senior rider.

In response to a question from the Committee, Mr Coles advised that Mrs McCulloch was due to have a concussion test and if the results were ok she would be able to resume riding on the weekend. He added that Mrs McCulloch sustained no other injuries from the fall.

Decision

As Ms Fawcett admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

Submissions for Penalty

Mr Coles produced Ms Fawcett’s record which showed no previous breaches from her 33 race day rides to date. He said the Stewards recommend 4 weeks a starting point when the carelessness results in a fall. He said the mitigating factors were Ms Fawcett’s admission of the breach and her clear record. He said there were some other mitigating factors for the Committee to consider which included Ms Fawcett’s inexperience and her mount was having its first start over ground and its previous races had been on soft and heavy tracks. He submitted that it was clear on the films that Ms Fawcett’s inexperience was a big part of the fall.

Mr Oatham submitted that it was difficult to assess the level of carelessness given Ms Fawcett’s inexperience. He believed it was more appropriate to talk in length of time instead of number of days when considering penalty. In his opinion it was the fairest way to do it.

Mr Oatham provided the Committee with Ms Fawcett’s recent riding history which showed she predominately rode in the North Island (32 rides) and it included Industry days in the Central Districts.

Mr Autridge submitted that Ms Fawcett had no upcoming engagements and any proposed suspension could start immediately. He reminded the Committee that this breach occurred over 2 weeks ago and the opportunities for Apprentice riders was going to be limited in the near future due to the improved track conditions.

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 riding is a 5 day suspension. However, we considered this breach to be vastly different than a normal charge of careless riding because Mrs McCulloch was dislodged from her mount due to Ms Fawcett’s carelessness.

The Stewards provided the Committee with a list of careless riding breaches which resulted in falls or riders being dislodged between 2011 and 2016. The Committee was conversant with a number of those charges and have looked carefully at cases which bear meaningful comparison with the circumstances that exist here.

The mitigating factors were Ms Fawcett’s admission of the breach and her unblemished record from 33 rides to date for which she has been given credit.

We accept that leading up to the incident EL FORTUNA (Mrs Thornton) was racing ungenerously in the lead and against the running rail when Ms Fawcett was racing on her outside. We also accept that LORD WESTBURY (B Hutton) who was racing in a 4 wide position on the outside of ACEDECEE (K McCulloch) and had its head turned inwards which placed that runner in tight quarters. We consider these to be contributing factors to the incident.

However, this has to be balanced against the aggravating factors which an uplift was applied.

When reviewing the video footage it was clearly evident that on the point of the bend Ms Fawcett allowed her mount to initially shift out 2 horse widths when not sufficiently clear of ACEDECEE. This resulted in ACEDECEE being pushed out of its rightful running line. Ms Fawcett continued on an outward move to a 3 wide position and crossed directly in front of ACEDCEE when the incident occurred. As a consequence of Ms Fawcett’s careless riding, ACEDECEE was crowded clipping a heel blundering and dislodging Mrs McCulloch. The video films show that at no stage from when Ms Fawcett and her mount commenced to shift outwards, up until such time as Mrs McCulloch was dislodged, did Ms Fawcett attempt to straighten her mount’s line of running or relieve any pressure that had been placed on ACEDECEE.

The Committee deemed the level of carelessness exhibited by Ms Fawcett was mid to high-range. While we have accepted that there were some contributing factors it was significant to note that the outward shift went on for approximately 7 strides.

The Committee did have regard for Ms Fawcett’s inexperience as an Apprentice rider however that does not excuse her for riding in such a careless manner.

The Committee was satisfied that Ms Fawcett has a recent history of riding in the Central Districts on Industry days. Therefore her suspension was calculated with all North Island days included. We note that Ms Fawcett had no rides at Taranaki on 27 October which was scheduled for Apprentice riders only.

After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered a term of suspension was an appropriate penalty. In our view the penalty should also act as a deterrent to other jockeys from riding in such a manner. We deem the safety of horse and rider is paramount. Accordingly the Committee determined that a significant increase from the JCA starting point was justified in this particular case.

Penalty

Accordingly, Ms Fawcett had her license to ride in races suspended for a period to commence after racing on 26 October and conclude after racing on 11 November 2016 (9 days).

That period of suspension encompasses meetings at

Tauranga - October 29

Ellerslie - November 1

Avondale - November 2

Rotorua - November 4

Te Rapa - November 5

Hastings - November 6

Waipa - November 8

Palmerston North - November 10

Dargaville - November 11

Costs

The RIU made no application for costs.

As this charge was heard on a raceday, there will be no order for JCA costs.

Adrian Dooley                   Alan Godsalve

Chairman                          Committee Member

28 October 2016

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