Otago RC 26 December 2010 – R 11 (heard at Kurow on 30 December 2010)
ID: JCA21512
Code:
Thoroughbred
Hearing Type (Code):
thoroughbred-racing
Meet Title:
Otago RC - 26 December 2010
Meet Chair:
Ghall
Meet Committee Member 1:
JEagles
Race Date:
2010/12/26
Race Number:
R 11
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
Information No: 7297
Meeting: Otago Racing Club
Date: 26 December 2010 (heard 230 December 2010)
Venue: Wingatui
Race: 11
Rule No: 638(1)(d)
Judicial Committee: Geoff Hall, Chairman – J Eagles, Committee Member
Plea: Not admitted
FACTS:
Mr Davidson, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr Johnson, the rider of PETTY LANE, permitted his mount to shift outwards when not clear dictating COURT DANCER (D Stackhouse) out on to ACE OF DIAMONDS (Ms C Van der Wert) who had to check. This happened near the 200 metre mark. .
SUBMISSIONS:
Mr Davidson had Mr McLaughlin show the incident on the videos. He demonstrated that PETTY LANE had moved out early in the run home when being ridden with the whip. Mr Johnson then straightened his mount. He then returned to the whip and PETTY LANE again moved out, this time quite sharply. PETTY LANE came in to the running line of Mr Stackhouse, who in turn moved wider on the track, squeezing and severely checking Ms Van der Wert. The side-on video showed that the defendant was barely ahead of COURT DANCER when he moved wider on the track. Mr Davidson said it was the defendant continuing to use the stick on PETTY LANE when it was moving wider on the track and not clear, that constituted careless riding.
Mr Davidson called Ms Van de Wert, who said she had had to check as a consequence of movement from her inner. She said her horse was running on in a clear gap, when the gap closed and she had to check off heels. She said the defendant’s horse had run out into Mr Stackhouse’s line. She said the pressure was from her inside and that while the horse on her outside was slowly coming in, it was not much. She added she believed Mr Stackhouse’s horse had over-reacted to the defendant’s mount moving out.
Mr Stackhouse said COURT DANCER had been a little unruly and prior to the incident he had had to change the whip to his left hand to keep the horse straight. He said he heard Ms Van de Wert screaming to be given room. He had not thought at the time he was under pressure from his inside, but accepted after viewing the videos, that he clearly was from Mr Johnson. He said his horse ducked out when the defendant came out. He said there was contact, not a big bump, but it moved him outwards. He added he did not believe the defendant was 2 lengths clear when he moved out.
The defendant stated that PETTY LANE was a very difficult horse to ride and that the connections of the horse and the trainer were concerned that he had been charged. It was the first time he had ridden the horse. He said he had tried to steady the horse for a trail but could not, and the horse had wanted to run sideways. He said he had never felt comfortable riding the horse and that it was shifting out underneath him. He first gave the horse 2 with the stick and it had moved out slightly. He had then stopped using the stick and straightened the horse. He had then used the stick again and the horse had moved abruptly. He believed the horse on Ms Van de Wert’s outer had contributed to the interference she had suffered. He said Mr Stackhouse’s horse had shifted away from his horse. He said he only moved slightly. When questioned as to why he had gone back to the stick, he said he thought he had the horse back in a straight line.
REASONS:
Mr Johnson has defended a charge that he rode carelessly in race 11 at Wingatui on 26 December last. The 2 video angles evidence that the defendant has moved out into the line of COURT DANCER when not his length and another length clear. As Mr Johnson has admitted, he was at best ¾ of a length clear when he moved across. He says he moved in slightly. We disagree; it some 1 ½ horse widths. The consequence was Mr Stackhouse’s horse over-reacted to use the words of Ms van der Wert, which were later adopted by Mr Stackhouse. This brought COURT DANCER into the line of Ms van der Wert’s horse, ACE OF DIAMONDS.
Mr Johnson, in his defence, has said movement from the horse on the outer of Ms van der Wert, MISS MILLBROOK, ridden by Mr Nor, contributed to the squeezing that she suffered. We do not agree. Any movement from the horse was prior to the incident and Mr Nor had taken corrective action. Mr Johnson is on firmer ground when he says his horse’s racing manners left a lot to be desired. It was the first time he had ridden the horse and he was finding it difficult to control. He said he was aware his horse was moving out in the straight and we accept that on one occasion he stopped using the whip and straightened the horse. However, he continues to use the whip when it is evident that he is not clear of the horses on his outer, with the consequence that his horse comes into racing line of COURT DANCER causing in turn interference to ACE OF DIAMONDS when COURT DANCER moves out.
DECISION:
We accept COURT DANCER has over-reacted to the movement of PETTY LANE, but this is no defence to a charge of careless riding. Mr Johnson has shifted outwards some 1 to 1 ½ horse widths when riding PETTY LANE with the stick, in the knowledge that the horse had previously similarly moved. He was not his length and another clear. We thus find the charge proved.
SUBMISSIONS AS TO PENALTY:
Mr Davidson put the defendant’s record before us. He described it as being a mixed bag. Mr Johnson has had 4 breaches of this rule in the first 6 months of this year but only one in the past six months. He said it was a reasonably good record. He asked for a suspension of 5 to 6 days, emphasising that ACE OF DIAMONDS had received a severe check. In so stating, he acknowledged that COURT DANCER had over-reacted to the movement from PETTY LANE.
Mr Johnson repeated that PETTY LANE was a difficult horse to ride and he now regretted accepting the ride. He asked for as short a suspension as was possible in the circumstances.
DECISION AS TO PENALTY:
We take a starting point of 5 days. We gave thought to increasing this having regard to the defendant’s record but having regard to the fact he is a very busy national rider and the last 6 months shows an improvement, we regard his record as a neutral factor.
We do not add a day for the severe check to Ms van der Wert because as Mr Davidson’s has also accepted, we believe that Mr Stackhouse’s horse has over-reacted, however, the initial movement was from Mr Johnson.
We also take into account that PETTY LANE is a very difficult horse to ride and that the defendant was having difficulties on this occasion. We also note Mr Johnson’s submission that the horse’s owner and trainer also accept the horse was giving the defendant a difficult ride. We view the horse’s racing manners as being a mitigating factor.
PENALTY:
Mr Johnson is suspended from riding at the end of the meeting at Omakau on 3 January up to and including 8 January. This is 4 days. Mr Johnson was informed that his record was such that future Committee’s might well take a 5-day starting point and increase this because of his record. Mr Johnson indicated that he understood this.
JCA Decision Fields (raw)
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hearingid: c8d244e2f5d5d0eb4ee9d433bc359b61
informantnumber:
horsename:
hearing_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing
startdate: 26/12/2010
newcharge:
plea:
penaltyrequired:
decisiondate: no date provided
hearing_title: Otago RC 26 December 2010 - R 11 (heard at Kurow on 30 December 2010)
charge:
facts:
appealdecision:
isappeal:
submissionsfordecision:
reasonsfordecision:
Decision:
RACEDAY JUDICIAL COMMITTEE DECISION
Information No: 7297
Meeting: Otago Racing Club
Date: 26 December 2010 (heard 230 December 2010)
Venue: Wingatui
Race: 11
Rule No: 638(1)(d)
Judicial Committee: Geoff Hall, Chairman – J Eagles, Committee Member
Plea: Not admitted
FACTS:
Mr Davidson, stipendiary steward, alleged that Mr Johnson, the rider of PETTY LANE, permitted his mount to shift outwards when not clear dictating COURT DANCER (D Stackhouse) out on to ACE OF DIAMONDS (Ms C Van der Wert) who had to check. This happened near the 200 metre mark. .
SUBMISSIONS:
Mr Davidson had Mr McLaughlin show the incident on the videos. He demonstrated that PETTY LANE had moved out early in the run home when being ridden with the whip. Mr Johnson then straightened his mount. He then returned to the whip and PETTY LANE again moved out, this time quite sharply. PETTY LANE came in to the running line of Mr Stackhouse, who in turn moved wider on the track, squeezing and severely checking Ms Van der Wert. The side-on video showed that the defendant was barely ahead of COURT DANCER when he moved wider on the track. Mr Davidson said it was the defendant continuing to use the stick on PETTY LANE when it was moving wider on the track and not clear, that constituted careless riding.
Mr Davidson called Ms Van de Wert, who said she had had to check as a consequence of movement from her inner. She said her horse was running on in a clear gap, when the gap closed and she had to check off heels. She said the defendant’s horse had run out into Mr Stackhouse’s line. She said the pressure was from her inside and that while the horse on her outside was slowly coming in, it was not much. She added she believed Mr Stackhouse’s horse had over-reacted to the defendant’s mount moving out.
Mr Stackhouse said COURT DANCER had been a little unruly and prior to the incident he had had to change the whip to his left hand to keep the horse straight. He said he heard Ms Van de Wert screaming to be given room. He had not thought at the time he was under pressure from his inside, but accepted after viewing the videos, that he clearly was from Mr Johnson. He said his horse ducked out when the defendant came out. He said there was contact, not a big bump, but it moved him outwards. He added he did not believe the defendant was 2 lengths clear when he moved out.
The defendant stated that PETTY LANE was a very difficult horse to ride and that the connections of the horse and the trainer were concerned that he had been charged. It was the first time he had ridden the horse. He said he had tried to steady the horse for a trail but could not, and the horse had wanted to run sideways. He said he had never felt comfortable riding the horse and that it was shifting out underneath him. He first gave the horse 2 with the stick and it had moved out slightly. He had then stopped using the stick and straightened the horse. He had then used the stick again and the horse had moved abruptly. He believed the horse on Ms Van de Wert’s outer had contributed to the interference she had suffered. He said Mr Stackhouse’s horse had shifted away from his horse. He said he only moved slightly. When questioned as to why he had gone back to the stick, he said he thought he had the horse back in a straight line.
REASONS:
Mr Johnson has defended a charge that he rode carelessly in race 11 at Wingatui on 26 December last. The 2 video angles evidence that the defendant has moved out into the line of COURT DANCER when not his length and another length clear. As Mr Johnson has admitted, he was at best ¾ of a length clear when he moved across. He says he moved in slightly. We disagree; it some 1 ½ horse widths. The consequence was Mr Stackhouse’s horse over-reacted to use the words of Ms van der Wert, which were later adopted by Mr Stackhouse. This brought COURT DANCER into the line of Ms van der Wert’s horse, ACE OF DIAMONDS.
Mr Johnson, in his defence, has said movement from the horse on the outer of Ms van der Wert, MISS MILLBROOK, ridden by Mr Nor, contributed to the squeezing that she suffered. We do not agree. Any movement from the horse was prior to the incident and Mr Nor had taken corrective action. Mr Johnson is on firmer ground when he says his horse’s racing manners left a lot to be desired. It was the first time he had ridden the horse and he was finding it difficult to control. He said he was aware his horse was moving out in the straight and we accept that on one occasion he stopped using the whip and straightened the horse. However, he continues to use the whip when it is evident that he is not clear of the horses on his outer, with the consequence that his horse comes into racing line of COURT DANCER causing in turn interference to ACE OF DIAMONDS when COURT DANCER moves out.
DECISION:
We accept COURT DANCER has over-reacted to the movement of PETTY LANE, but this is no defence to a charge of careless riding. Mr Johnson has shifted outwards some 1 to 1 ½ horse widths when riding PETTY LANE with the stick, in the knowledge that the horse had previously similarly moved. He was not his length and another clear. We thus find the charge proved.
SUBMISSIONS AS TO PENALTY:
Mr Davidson put the defendant’s record before us. He described it as being a mixed bag. Mr Johnson has had 4 breaches of this rule in the first 6 months of this year but only one in the past six months. He said it was a reasonably good record. He asked for a suspension of 5 to 6 days, emphasising that ACE OF DIAMONDS had received a severe check. In so stating, he acknowledged that COURT DANCER had over-reacted to the movement from PETTY LANE.
Mr Johnson repeated that PETTY LANE was a difficult horse to ride and he now regretted accepting the ride. He asked for as short a suspension as was possible in the circumstances.
DECISION AS TO PENALTY:
We take a starting point of 5 days. We gave thought to increasing this having regard to the defendant’s record but having regard to the fact he is a very busy national rider and the last 6 months shows an improvement, we regard his record as a neutral factor.
We do not add a day for the severe check to Ms van der Wert because as Mr Davidson’s has also accepted, we believe that Mr Stackhouse’s horse has over-reacted, however, the initial movement was from Mr Johnson.
We also take into account that PETTY LANE is a very difficult horse to ride and that the defendant was having difficulties on this occasion. We also note Mr Johnson’s submission that the horse’s owner and trainer also accept the horse was giving the defendant a difficult ride. We view the horse’s racing manners as being a mitigating factor.
PENALTY:
Mr Johnson is suspended from riding at the end of the meeting at Omakau on 3 January up to and including 8 January. This is 4 days. Mr Johnson was informed that his record was such that future Committee’s might well take a 5-day starting point and increase this because of his record. Mr Johnson indicated that he understood this.
sumissionsforpenalty:
reasonsforpenalty:
penalty:
hearing_type: Old Hearing
Rules: 638(1)(d)
Informant:
JockeysandTrainer:
Otherperson:
PersonPresent:
Respondent:
StipendSteward:
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meet_title: Otago RC - 26 December 2010
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