NZ Metropolitan TC 3 March 2017 – R 3 – Chair, Mr R McKenzie
ID: JCA10955
Meet Title:
NZ Metro TC - 3 March 2017
Meet Chair:
RMcKenzie
Meet Committee Member 1:
SChing
Race Date:
2017/03/03
Race Number:
R3
Decision:
Miss Stewart having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
Penalty:
Miss Stewart was fined the sum of $300.
Facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Christchurch Casino (Junior Drivers) Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SP Renault, against Licensed Junior Driver, Miss AL Stewart, alleging that, as the driver of TAKE AFTER ME in the race, she “used her whip excessively inside the final 400 metres”.
Miss Stewart was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the breach. Miss Stewart was assisted at the hearing by Licensed Open Driver, Miss S J Ottley.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Renault showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Miss Stewart, driving TAKE AFTER ME, in the middle of runners and towards the rear of the field as the field entered the final straight. Upon entering the home straight, Miss Stewart drew the horse out for a run widest on the track and from that point, Mr Renault alleged, Miss Stewart used her whip in her left hand, free of the rein, on 11 or 12 occasions. Miss Stewart accepted that she had used the whip in excess of ten times but Miss Ottley submitted that Miss Stewart had used her whip on only eleven occasions. It was accepted that the breach was at the low end of a scale of seriousness. The Committee noted that TAKE AFTER ME had finished in 3rd placing, the margins being ¾ length and ¾ length.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault informed the Committee that Miss Stewart has only recently shifted here from Australia. This drive was her sixth since the shift. Her record was clear, Mr Renault said. He submitted that, having regard to Miss Stewart’s good record, her admission of the breach and her junior driver status, a fine of $300 would be appropriate.
Miss Stewart told the Committee that she had had approximately 40 drives in Australia. She expressed a preference for a fine rather than a suspension.
Reasons for Penalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the low range. Mitigating factors were Miss Stewart’s admission of the breach and her good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
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: 10e613a9335282188c0256b198ac7ba4
informantnumber: A6280
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Excessive Use of Whip
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 04/03/2017
hearing_title: NZ Metropolitan TC 3 March 2017 - R 3 - Chair, Mr R McKenzie
charge:
facts:
Following the running of Race 3, Christchurch Casino (Junior Drivers) Pace, an information was filed by Stipendiary Steward, Mr SP Renault, against Licensed Junior Driver, Miss AL Stewart, alleging that, as the driver of TAKE AFTER ME in the race, she “used her whip excessively inside the final 400 metres”.
Miss Stewart was present at the hearing of the information and she indicated that she admitted the breach. Miss Stewart was assisted at the hearing by Licensed Open Driver, Miss S J Ottley.
Rule 869 provides as follows:
(2) No horseman shall during any race:-
(a) use his whip in an unnecessary, excessive or improper manner.
The Use of Whip Guidelines (effective from 1 December 2016) provide:
The whip shall not be used more than 10 times in the last 400 metres of a race, otherwise this will be deemed excessive use pursuant to these Guidelines.
Mr Renault showed to the hearing a video replay of the final 400 metres of the race. He pointed out Miss Stewart, driving TAKE AFTER ME, in the middle of runners and towards the rear of the field as the field entered the final straight. Upon entering the home straight, Miss Stewart drew the horse out for a run widest on the track and from that point, Mr Renault alleged, Miss Stewart used her whip in her left hand, free of the rein, on 11 or 12 occasions. Miss Stewart accepted that she had used the whip in excess of ten times but Miss Ottley submitted that Miss Stewart had used her whip on only eleven occasions. It was accepted that the breach was at the low end of a scale of seriousness. The Committee noted that TAKE AFTER ME had finished in 3rd placing, the margins being ¾ length and ¾ length.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Miss Stewart having admitted the breach, the charge was found proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault informed the Committee that Miss Stewart has only recently shifted here from Australia. This drive was her sixth since the shift. Her record was clear, Mr Renault said. He submitted that, having regard to Miss Stewart’s good record, her admission of the breach and her junior driver status, a fine of $300 would be appropriate.
Miss Stewart told the Committee that she had had approximately 40 drives in Australia. She expressed a preference for a fine rather than a suspension.
reasonsforpenalty:
In determining penalty, the Committee took the starting point of a $500 fine as provided in the Penalty Guide. There were no aggravating factors. The breach, in the Committee’s view, was in the low range. Mitigating factors were Miss Stewart’s admission of the breach and her good driving record. The Committee was satisfied that a combination of those two factors warranted a discount in the sum of $200.
penalty:
Miss Stewart was fined the sum of $300.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(2)(a)
Informant: Mr SP Renault - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Miss AL Stewart - Licensed Junior Driver
Otherperson: Miss S Ottley - Licensed Open Driver
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 08ba5692992134f41fccdeb9cbd66bde
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 332de43f80879ec9ad9bad3f9c362235
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 03/03/2017
meet_title: NZ Metro TC - 3 March 2017
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: nz-metro-tc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: RMcKenzie
meet_pm1: SChing
meet_pm2: none
name: NZ Metro TC