Oamaru JC – 15 August 2008 – Race 3
ID: JCA18935
Code:
Thoroughbred
Hearing Type (Code):
thoroughbred-racing
Meet Title:
Oamaru JC - 15 August 2008
Race Date:
2008/08/15
Race Number:
Race 3
Decision: Mr P Harris, licensed trainer, sought a ruling pursuant to rule 865A in that he alleged FULL PITCH was denied a fair start due to the blindfold the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant.
Mr P Harris, licensed trainer, sought a ruling pursuant to rule 865A in that he alleged FULL PITCH was denied a fair start due to the blindfold the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant. FULL PITCH had finished 5th, receiving a stake of $150.
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Mr Harris demonstrated on the front on and side on videos that in his opinion FULL PITCH had been denied a fair start due to the blindfold that the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant. He stated he believed there was a clear second between the gates opening and the blindfold being removed.
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Mr Patrick Holmes, rider of FULL PITCH, stated the horse had taken fright and gone backwards when it heard the gates opening and the blindfold still being on. He agreed with Mr Harris that there was a delay in the blindfold being removed.
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Mr Davidson, stipendiary steward, said there was a minimal delay in removing the blindfold and, in that regard, the videos demonstrated that the starter’s assistant’s hand came up as the gates opened.
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There are 2 key elements to rule 865A: the horse was denied a fair start; and the horse’s chances have been materially prejudiced thereby. We agree there was a delay in the blindfold being removed. However, we view the delay as minimal. There is no doubt that FULL PITCH took a step back as the blindfold was removed, which further delayed the horse leaving the gates. The horse’s slow start (it was about ½ a length behind the horse in the next gate) was compounded by the fact that the horse two on its inner jumped awkwardly forcing the horse on FULL PITCH’s inner into FULL PITCH’s line and forcing FULL PITCH wider on the track as a result. We do not believe the brief delay has denied FULL PITCH a fair start. Significantly, nor would we have been further satisfied that FULL PITCH’s chances were materially affected by the starter’s assistant’s actions. This is primarily because of the buffeting the horse received on leaving the gates, which had a far greater impact on FULL PITCH chances than did its tardy beginning. In these circumstances the Judge’s placings stand with FULL PITCH finishing 5th.
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G Hall Chairman
--J Eagles Member
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: 229cc6966af52038e0d103a55ac0f99c
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
startdate: 15/08/2008
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Oamaru JC - 15 August 2008 - Race 3
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
Mr P Harris, licensed trainer, sought a ruling pursuant to rule 865A in that he alleged FULL PITCH was denied a fair start due to the blindfold the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant.Mr P Harris, licensed trainer, sought a ruling pursuant to rule 865A in that he alleged FULL PITCH was denied a fair start due to the blindfold the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant. FULL PITCH had finished 5th, receiving a stake of $150.
----
Mr Harris demonstrated on the front on and side on videos that in his opinion FULL PITCH had been denied a fair start due to the blindfold that the horse was wearing being slow to be removed by the starter’s assistant. He stated he believed there was a clear second between the gates opening and the blindfold being removed.
----
Mr Patrick Holmes, rider of FULL PITCH, stated the horse had taken fright and gone backwards when it heard the gates opening and the blindfold still being on. He agreed with Mr Harris that there was a delay in the blindfold being removed.
----
Mr Davidson, stipendiary steward, said there was a minimal delay in removing the blindfold and, in that regard, the videos demonstrated that the starter’s assistant’s hand came up as the gates opened.
----
There are 2 key elements to rule 865A: the horse was denied a fair start; and the horse’s chances have been materially prejudiced thereby. We agree there was a delay in the blindfold being removed. However, we view the delay as minimal. There is no doubt that FULL PITCH took a step back as the blindfold was removed, which further delayed the horse leaving the gates. The horse’s slow start (it was about ½ a length behind the horse in the next gate) was compounded by the fact that the horse two on its inner jumped awkwardly forcing the horse on FULL PITCH’s inner into FULL PITCH’s line and forcing FULL PITCH wider on the track as a result. We do not believe the brief delay has denied FULL PITCH a fair start. Significantly, nor would we have been further satisfied that FULL PITCH’s chances were materially affected by the starter’s assistant’s actions. This is primarily because of the buffeting the horse received on leaving the gates, which had a far greater impact on FULL PITCH chances than did its tardy beginning. In these circumstances the Judge’s placings stand with FULL PITCH finishing 5th.
----
G Hall Chairman
--J Eagles Member
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules:
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 36a18e4dc134d550df3893cb23ae4cc4
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: Race 3
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: e34a2d2ba29e5ea9bc62a1bcc802a580
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 15/08/2008
meet_title: Oamaru JC - 15 August 2008
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: oamaru-jc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair:
meet_pm1:
meet_pm2:
name: Oamaru JC