Oamaru HRC 28 August 2016 – R 1 – Chair, Mr P Knowles
ID: JCA13869
Meet Title:
Oamaru HRC - 28 August 2016
Meet Chair:
PKnowles
Meet Committee Member 1:
GHall
Race Date:
2016/08/28
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
The charge is upheld.
Penalty:
Ms Lee is suspended from the conclusion of this meeting, up to and including Addington on September 23rd. (The suspension does not include any days in the Southland district). This is six days: Addington 2nd, Addington 9th, Oamaru 11th, Addington 15th, Methven 18th and Addington 23rd.
Facts:
Following the running of race # 2 the NORTH OTAGO MOTOR GROUP MOBILE PACE an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr SP Renault alleging a breach of Rule 868(3) in that “Miss I Lee (Gypsy’s Choice) failed to drive her horse out to the end of the race when she had a reasonable chance of finishing 3rd”.
Rule 868(3) reads:
Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has a reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth.
Ms Lee did not admit the breach and appeared at the hearing with Senior Horseman Mr J Curtin. The official margin between third and fourth placings was a nose.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr Quirk (Stipendiary Steward) used the videos to point out the relevant position of Gypsy’s Choice in the home straight. Mr Renault stated that the Stewards had no concerns over the way Ms Lee drove her horse during the race, except for the final 35m to 40m. He alleged that Ms Lee was running a clear third from that point but approx. 15m from the post she put her whip under her arm and stopped driving her horse out. Gypsy’s Choice was beaten by a nose at the finish by the fast finishing Floating On Eyre, which was wider on the track.
Ms Lee stated her horse had raced in the one out line with cover until the final 1000m. She improved forward due to Gypsy’s Choice over racing in the trail and had challenged for the lead from that point. Over the final 200m the horse had flattened out and was losing ground on the leaders. She was aware there was a horse wider out and believed she had a half-length on it. She said she had looked to her inside to make sure no one was improving in the passing lane.
Mr Curtin stated it was clear from the video that Gypsy’s Choice was tiring and had lost half a length over the final few metres. Ms Lee had looked outside and inside and it was just a lack of experience on her part.
In summary Mr Renault said Ms Lee had failed to drive her horse out to the finish. She had put her whip away short of the post and had not shown any discernible actions to the finish line. She thought she was going to finish third, but was beaten a nose at the finish.
Mr Curtin said Gypsy’s Choice had had a tough run over the final 1000m and was definitely losing ground over the final few metres. He said Gypsy’s Choice was unlucky to be beaten by a nose at the finish.
Reasons for Decision:
The committee must be satisfied that Ms Lee failed to drive her horse out to the finish. While Gypsy’s Choice had competed for the lead from about the 1000m mark, and was tiring over the final 200m, Ms Lee, over the final 35/40m, put her whip away and stopped driving her horse out to the finish. There was no discernible use of the reins, for example, to urge her horse to the finish. She believed she had the horse on her outside covered. Unfortunately this was not the case. The margin was a nose.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr Renault said Ms Lee had had two drives this season and 42 drives last season. He added Ms Lee is a Junior Horsewoman, had not admitted the breach and had an excellent record. Mr Renault said in a similar incident a Junior Driver at Addington was suspended for six days.
Ms Lee stated she would prefer a suspension as opposed to a fine. She drove in the Canterbury/Otago regions and averaged about one drive per meeting. She had been driving for four seasons.
Reasons for Penalty:
Mr Renault sought a suspension of six days while Miss Lee preferred a suspension as opposed to a fine or a combination of both.
The Penalty Guide has a starting point of 12 drives, or a $600 fine or, if circumstances warrant, a combination of a suspension/fine.
Ms Lee is a Junior Horsewoman with an excellent record over the past four seasons. While she failed to drive her horse out to the finish, her actions showed a lack of experience as opposed to any serious intention to not drive her horse out. However, Ms Lee’s actions cost the horse’s connections and the betting public 3rd place money and this must be factored into penalty.
As Ms Lee drives once a week in the Canterbury/Otago regions a suspension of 12 drives would be up to and including Timaru on the 9th October. Given the circumstances of the breach, that would be an excessive penalty for a Junior Horsewoman with an excellent record.
In this instance, and having regard to the need for accountability and deterrence, the committee believes a six day suspension is the appropriate penalty.
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: 7ab1cc262a74ff87b0b6acda57c585c7
informantnumber: A8355
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge: Failing to drive out
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 30/08/2016
hearing_title: Oamaru HRC 28 August 2016 - R 1 - Chair, Mr P Knowles
charge:
facts:
Following the running of race # 2 the NORTH OTAGO MOTOR GROUP MOBILE PACE an Information was filed by Stipendiary Steward Mr SP Renault alleging a breach of Rule 868(3) in that “Miss I Lee (Gypsy’s Choice) failed to drive her horse out to the end of the race when she had a reasonable chance of finishing 3rd”.
Rule 868(3) reads:
Every horseman shall drive his horse out to the end of the race if he has a reasonable chance of running first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth.
Ms Lee did not admit the breach and appeared at the hearing with Senior Horseman Mr J Curtin. The official margin between third and fourth placings was a nose.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr Quirk (Stipendiary Steward) used the videos to point out the relevant position of Gypsy’s Choice in the home straight. Mr Renault stated that the Stewards had no concerns over the way Ms Lee drove her horse during the race, except for the final 35m to 40m. He alleged that Ms Lee was running a clear third from that point but approx. 15m from the post she put her whip under her arm and stopped driving her horse out. Gypsy’s Choice was beaten by a nose at the finish by the fast finishing Floating On Eyre, which was wider on the track.
Ms Lee stated her horse had raced in the one out line with cover until the final 1000m. She improved forward due to Gypsy’s Choice over racing in the trail and had challenged for the lead from that point. Over the final 200m the horse had flattened out and was losing ground on the leaders. She was aware there was a horse wider out and believed she had a half-length on it. She said she had looked to her inside to make sure no one was improving in the passing lane.
Mr Curtin stated it was clear from the video that Gypsy’s Choice was tiring and had lost half a length over the final few metres. Ms Lee had looked outside and inside and it was just a lack of experience on her part.
In summary Mr Renault said Ms Lee had failed to drive her horse out to the finish. She had put her whip away short of the post and had not shown any discernible actions to the finish line. She thought she was going to finish third, but was beaten a nose at the finish.
Mr Curtin said Gypsy’s Choice had had a tough run over the final 1000m and was definitely losing ground over the final few metres. He said Gypsy’s Choice was unlucky to be beaten by a nose at the finish.
reasonsfordecision:
The committee must be satisfied that Ms Lee failed to drive her horse out to the finish. While Gypsy’s Choice had competed for the lead from about the 1000m mark, and was tiring over the final 200m, Ms Lee, over the final 35/40m, put her whip away and stopped driving her horse out to the finish. There was no discernible use of the reins, for example, to urge her horse to the finish. She believed she had the horse on her outside covered. Unfortunately this was not the case. The margin was a nose.
Decision:
The charge is upheld.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr Renault said Ms Lee had had two drives this season and 42 drives last season. He added Ms Lee is a Junior Horsewoman, had not admitted the breach and had an excellent record. Mr Renault said in a similar incident a Junior Driver at Addington was suspended for six days.
Ms Lee stated she would prefer a suspension as opposed to a fine. She drove in the Canterbury/Otago regions and averaged about one drive per meeting. She had been driving for four seasons.
reasonsforpenalty:
Mr Renault sought a suspension of six days while Miss Lee preferred a suspension as opposed to a fine or a combination of both.
The Penalty Guide has a starting point of 12 drives, or a $600 fine or, if circumstances warrant, a combination of a suspension/fine.
Ms Lee is a Junior Horsewoman with an excellent record over the past four seasons. While she failed to drive her horse out to the finish, her actions showed a lack of experience as opposed to any serious intention to not drive her horse out. However, Ms Lee’s actions cost the horse’s connections and the betting public 3rd place money and this must be factored into penalty.
As Ms Lee drives once a week in the Canterbury/Otago regions a suspension of 12 drives would be up to and including Timaru on the 9th October. Given the circumstances of the breach, that would be an excessive penalty for a Junior Horsewoman with an excellent record.
In this instance, and having regard to the need for accountability and deterrence, the committee believes a six day suspension is the appropriate penalty.
penalty:
Ms Lee is suspended from the conclusion of this meeting, up to and including Addington on September 23rd. (The suspension does not include any days in the Southland district). This is six days: Addington 2nd, Addington 9th, Oamaru 11th, Addington 15th, Methven 18th and Addington 23rd.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 868 (3)
Informant: Mr SP Renault - Stipendiary Steward, Mr R Quirk - Stipendiary Steward
JockeysandTrainer: Ms I Lee - Junior Horsewoman
Otherperson: Mr J Curtin - Assisting
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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race_title: R1
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meetdate: 28/08/2016
meet_title: Oamaru HRC - 28 August 2016
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name: Oamaru HRC