Otago RC 12 June 2011 – R1
ID: JCA15165
Code:
Thoroughbred
Meet Title:
Otago RC - 12 June 2011
Meet Chair:
GHall
Meet Committee Member 1:
PKnowles
Race Date:
2011/06/12
Race Number:
R1
Decision:
We find the breach proved.
Penalty:
We suspend the defendant from riding from the end of racing on 18 June up to and including 14 July. This will permit the defendant to ride at the Wellington meeting on 16 July. A number of the meetings at which the defendant will be unable to ride during this period we note have a jumpers’ flat (high weight) race carded but no jumps races.
Charge:
Mr McLaughlin alleged that Mr Oakden attempted to weigh out for his mount without irons and leathers.
Facts:
Mr Oakden was carded to ride KERRY DANCE in race 1 at 65 kgs. He was entitled to claim a 2.5 kg allowance.
Mr McLaughlin called Mr J Mills, clerk of the scales, to give evidence. Mr Mills stated that he had been asked to notify the stipendiary stewards when the defendant weighed out. He called the stewards and they were there when Mr Oakden was on the scales. He said this was the second time the defendant had been on the scales that morning. He had weighed the defendant earlier and it was evident to him that the defendant was not going to be able to make his claim. He said on the second occasion the defendant was not squarely on the scales, his left leg was touching the floor and his pad was across the top of his saddle. He said at this time the defendant weighed just about 67 kgs, he thought it was 66.9kgs. He said Mr McLaughlin looked under the pad and requested that the defendant reweigh with the correct gear. The defendant did so, and after weighing out with irons and leathers and in the trainer’s colours, he was 68.6 kg.
Mr Allison, stipendiary steward, gave evidence that he observed the defendant weigh out. He said Mr Oakden was not squarely on the scales and that his left leg was touching the ground. He said when Mr McLaughlin got the defendant to lift the pad it was clear he was missing irons and leathers.
Mr Oakden did not deny weighing out without stirrups. He said it was a “mistake”. He explained he was short of time as he was running late through being in the sauna and he had just "forgot". He accepted he was not squarely on the scales but denied his left foot was not touching the ground.
Submissions for Decision:
Mr McLaughlin in reply said the defendant finally weighed out 5 kgs over (once the 1 kg allowance for the vest was considered). He said Mr Oakden knew he had weight issues, and that in his view the defendant had not made a genuine mistake concerning his irons and leathers and that this was supported by the fact that the defendant’s left leg was on the ground when weighing out.
Reasons for Decision:
We accept the clear evidence of Mr Mills and Mr Allison, which is not disputed by the defendant, that he weighed out without his irons and leathers. We also find he was not squarely on the scales and that his left foot was on the ground when he attempted to weigh out. The difference in weight of 6 kgs (effectively 5), when regard is had to the allowance the defendant was entitled to claim is significant. The difference from when first weighing out in the stipendiary stewards' presence at 66.9kgs and then finally weighing out with the correct gear at 68.6kgs, was 1.7 kg. Significantly, we believe that the defendant was aware he was going to weigh out overweight. We do not believe this was an innocent mistake. His actions in leaving his left foot on the ground and his demeanour in the hearing room suggest otherwise.
Submissions for Penalty:
Mr McLaughlin placed the defendant’s record before us. It was clear under this rule. He submitted that a suspension of 3 to 4 weeks was appropriate.
Mr Oakden said he had had about 25 rides and had ridden 4 winners in this time. He said a 3 to 4 weeks suspension would mean he would miss a fair bit of the season. He asked that the suspension be deferred until after racing at Wellington next Saturday. The stipendiary stewards did not object to this.
Reasons for Penalty:
We regard this as a serious breach of the rules. We do not accept that this was an honest mistake as the defendant has alleged. We believe his actions were deliberate. We give credit to the defendant’s excellent record. We also take into account this is Mr Oakden’s first season with some 25 rides and 4 winners. We treat the defendant as a national jumps jockey in determining the length of the suspension. We note the season is part way through but there will still be a number of races at which the defendant will later be able to ride. We believe that the submission from Mr McLaughlin that the penalty be in the range of 3 to 4 weeks is a realistic one.
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: 7160976d923102a5787d55bcc4615a5e
informantnumber: 5560
horsename:
hearing_racingtype:
startdate: no date provided
newcharge:
plea: denied
penaltyrequired: 1
decisiondate: 25/05/2011
hearing_title: Otago RC 12 June 2011 - R1
charge:
Mr McLaughlin alleged that Mr Oakden attempted to weigh out for his mount without irons and leathers.
facts:
Mr Oakden was carded to ride KERRY DANCE in race 1 at 65 kgs. He was entitled to claim a 2.5 kg allowance.
Mr McLaughlin called Mr J Mills, clerk of the scales, to give evidence. Mr Mills stated that he had been asked to notify the stipendiary stewards when the defendant weighed out. He called the stewards and they were there when Mr Oakden was on the scales. He said this was the second time the defendant had been on the scales that morning. He had weighed the defendant earlier and it was evident to him that the defendant was not going to be able to make his claim. He said on the second occasion the defendant was not squarely on the scales, his left leg was touching the floor and his pad was across the top of his saddle. He said at this time the defendant weighed just about 67 kgs, he thought it was 66.9kgs. He said Mr McLaughlin looked under the pad and requested that the defendant reweigh with the correct gear. The defendant did so, and after weighing out with irons and leathers and in the trainer’s colours, he was 68.6 kg.
Mr Allison, stipendiary steward, gave evidence that he observed the defendant weigh out. He said Mr Oakden was not squarely on the scales and that his left leg was touching the ground. He said when Mr McLaughlin got the defendant to lift the pad it was clear he was missing irons and leathers.
Mr Oakden did not deny weighing out without stirrups. He said it was a “mistake”. He explained he was short of time as he was running late through being in the sauna and he had just "forgot". He accepted he was not squarely on the scales but denied his left foot was not touching the ground.
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
Mr McLaughlin in reply said the defendant finally weighed out 5 kgs over (once the 1 kg allowance for the vest was considered). He said Mr Oakden knew he had weight issues, and that in his view the defendant had not made a genuine mistake concerning his irons and leathers and that this was supported by the fact that the defendant’s left leg was on the ground when weighing out.
reasonsfordecision:
We accept the clear evidence of Mr Mills and Mr Allison, which is not disputed by the defendant, that he weighed out without his irons and leathers. We also find he was not squarely on the scales and that his left foot was on the ground when he attempted to weigh out. The difference in weight of 6 kgs (effectively 5), when regard is had to the allowance the defendant was entitled to claim is significant. The difference from when first weighing out in the stipendiary stewards' presence at 66.9kgs and then finally weighing out with the correct gear at 68.6kgs, was 1.7 kg. Significantly, we believe that the defendant was aware he was going to weigh out overweight. We do not believe this was an innocent mistake. His actions in leaving his left foot on the ground and his demeanour in the hearing room suggest otherwise.
Decision:
We find the breach proved.
sumissionsforpenalty:
Mr McLaughlin placed the defendant’s record before us. It was clear under this rule. He submitted that a suspension of 3 to 4 weeks was appropriate.
Mr Oakden said he had had about 25 rides and had ridden 4 winners in this time. He said a 3 to 4 weeks suspension would mean he would miss a fair bit of the season. He asked that the suspension be deferred until after racing at Wellington next Saturday. The stipendiary stewards did not object to this.
reasonsforpenalty:
We regard this as a serious breach of the rules. We do not accept that this was an honest mistake as the defendant has alleged. We believe his actions were deliberate. We give credit to the defendant’s excellent record. We also take into account this is Mr Oakden’s first season with some 25 rides and 4 winners. We treat the defendant as a national jumps jockey in determining the length of the suspension. We note the season is part way through but there will still be a number of races at which the defendant will later be able to ride. We believe that the submission from Mr McLaughlin that the penalty be in the range of 3 to 4 weeks is a realistic one.
penalty:
We suspend the defendant from riding from the end of racing on 18 June up to and including 14 July. This will permit the defendant to ride at the Wellington meeting on 16 July. A number of the meetings at which the defendant will be unable to ride during this period we note have a jumpers’ flat (high weight) race carded but no jumps races.
hearing_type: Hearing
Rules: 649(1)(a)
Informant: Mr J McLaughlin
JockeysandTrainer: Mr D Oakden
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
raceid: 7ccc6188dafb9a894563ba013cc3bdd8
race_expapproval:
racecancelled: 0
race_noreport: 0
race_emailed1: 0
race_emailed2: 0
race_title: R1
submittochair:
race_expappcomment:
race_km:
race_otherexp:
race_chair:
race_pm1:
race_pm2:
meetid: affb7e7401ffbc8ffe446f2d86dbdbec
meet_expapproval:
meet_noreport: 0
waitingforpublication: 0
meet_emailed1: 0
meet_emailed2: 0
meetdate: 12/06/2011
meet_title: Otago RC - 12 June 2011
meet_expappcomment:
meet_km:
meet_otherexp:
tracklocation: otago-rc
meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
meet_chair: GHall
meet_pm1: PKnowles
meet_pm2: none
name: Otago RC