Oamaru HRC 20 September 2020 – R 3 – Chair, Prof G Hall
ID: JCA12925
Meet Title:
Oamaru HRC - 20 September 2020
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2020/09/20
Race Number:
R 3
Decision:
Mr Ferguson has admitted the breach. It is found to be proved.
Penalty:
Mr Ferguson is suspended from the end of racing today up to and including 1 October. This is 2 days.
Facts:
Miss Haley, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Ferguson (VON ART) drove carelessly past the 400 metres in race 3 when striking the leg of ROCKNROLL MAMA (R Anderson) causing that horse to break.
Mr Renault, Stipendiary Steward, demonstrated the alleged breach on the videos. He pointed out Mr Ferguson who was racing one-off just back of mid-field. He said Mr Ferguson was trying to shift in to follow Mr O’Reilly who was on the pylons. There was a horse to his inside, ROCKNROLL MAMA, driven by Mr Anderson, and Mr Ferguson made contact with that horse. ROCKNROLL MAMA was checked and broke.
Mr Ferguson said he was “second guessing” himself at the time of the incident as to how good the trailing horse was travelling. He should have shifted earlier. He had had the opportunity but had hesitated. He did not realise that Mr Anderson had made ground and that the legs of ROCKNROLL MAMA were to his inside. He accepted he had made contact. He added VON ART was a difficult horse to drive and he had had his hands full.
Submissions for Penalty:
Miss Haley produced Mr Ferguson’s record. It was clear this season. She described the breach as low to mid-range and asked for a 2 to 3-day suspension.
Mr Ferguson requested that the penalty be as low as possible. He said he had misread the way the race was going and thought he had had more room than he did. He believed his breach was at the low end of careless driving.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Ferguson has shifted inwards from a one-out position in an attempt to follow Mr O’Reilly who was racing on the markers. In so doing he has made contact with the legs of ROCKNROLL MAMA, which broke. That horse was under pressure prior to the incident and its chances on running a dividend bearing position were unlikely to have been affected by the Respondent’s actions. Mr Ferguson should have seen that Mr Anderson was to his inside when he shifted inwards. He did not and, as a consequence, he was careless.
The starting point in the Penalty Guide is a 10-day suspension. Mr Ferguson’s record is very good with his last breach of this Rule being in early 2018. He averages 4 drives per meeting. Taking into account the gravity of the breach and its consequences, and giving a discount for admission and record, we believe a suspension of 2 days is appropriate.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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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: 69d75480356a41726648b9e10bec93cb
informantnumber: A12881
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Careless Driving
plea: admitted
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 22/09/2020
hearing_title: Oamaru HRC 20 September 2020 - R 3 - Chair, Prof G Hall
charge:
facts:
Miss Haley, Stipendiary Steward, alleged that Mr Ferguson (VON ART) drove carelessly past the 400 metres in race 3 when striking the leg of ROCKNROLL MAMA (R Anderson) causing that horse to break.
Mr Renault, Stipendiary Steward, demonstrated the alleged breach on the videos. He pointed out Mr Ferguson who was racing one-off just back of mid-field. He said Mr Ferguson was trying to shift in to follow Mr O’Reilly who was on the pylons. There was a horse to his inside, ROCKNROLL MAMA, driven by Mr Anderson, and Mr Ferguson made contact with that horse. ROCKNROLL MAMA was checked and broke.
Mr Ferguson said he was “second guessing” himself at the time of the incident as to how good the trailing horse was travelling. He should have shifted earlier. He had had the opportunity but had hesitated. He did not realise that Mr Anderson had made ground and that the legs of ROCKNROLL MAMA were to his inside. He accepted he had made contact. He added VON ART was a difficult horse to drive and he had had his hands full.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr Ferguson has admitted the breach. It is found to be proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Miss Haley produced Mr Ferguson’s record. It was clear this season. She described the breach as low to mid-range and asked for a 2 to 3-day suspension.
Mr Ferguson requested that the penalty be as low as possible. He said he had misread the way the race was going and thought he had had more room than he did. He believed his breach was at the low end of careless driving.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Ferguson has shifted inwards from a one-out position in an attempt to follow Mr O’Reilly who was racing on the markers. In so doing he has made contact with the legs of ROCKNROLL MAMA, which broke. That horse was under pressure prior to the incident and its chances on running a dividend bearing position were unlikely to have been affected by the Respondent’s actions. Mr Ferguson should have seen that Mr Anderson was to his inside when he shifted inwards. He did not and, as a consequence, he was careless.
The starting point in the Penalty Guide is a 10-day suspension. Mr Ferguson’s record is very good with his last breach of this Rule being in early 2018. He averages 4 drives per meeting. Taking into account the gravity of the breach and its consequences, and giving a discount for admission and record, we believe a suspension of 2 days is appropriate.
penalty:
Mr Ferguson is suspended from the end of racing today up to and including 1 October. This is 2 days.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 869(3)(b)
Informant: Miss R Haley - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Mr C Ferguson - Open Driver
Otherperson: Mr S Renault - Stipendiary Steward
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 92ab476e1e0fcb8c5b625eabe1518ae3
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R 3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: 9e58300ed7d7352d7f6bfc5659fdca2d
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 20/09/2020
meet_title: Oamaru HRC - 20 September 2020
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: oamaru-hrc
meet_racingtype: harness-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Oamaru HRC