Archive Decision

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Otaki-Maori RC 25 February 2017 – R 6 – Chair, Mrs N Moffatt

ID: JCA11348

Applicant:
Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Ms D Hirini - Apprentice Rider

Other Person:
Mr M Breslin - Licensed Trainer assisting Ms Hirini, Mr D Balcombe - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A8751

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Careless Riding

Rules:
638(1)(d)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Otaki-Maori RC - 25 February 2017

Meet Chair:
NMoffatt

Meet Committee Member 1:
PWilliams

Race Date:
2017/02/25

Race Number:
R 6

Decision:

As Ms Hirini admitted the breach we found the charge proved.

Penalty:

Ms Hirini is suspended from the close of racing on Sunday February 26th up to and including racing on Saturday March 11th.The days included in this period are:

2/3/17 - Hastings
3/3/17 - Awapuni
10/3/17 - Otaki
11/3/17 - Egmont

Despite Mr Breslin being firm in his submission that Ashburton (Thursday March 9th) should be included in the period of suspension we did not believe that it represented a genuine riding day for Ms Hirini. We heard evidence that she had received requests about riding at Ashburton in the past but Mr Breslin said it hadn’t been worth her while to travel down for only one or two rides. Without a pattern of riding at Ashburton we could not agree to this day being included.

Facts:

Following the running of Race 6, (Hunting & Fishing Otaki Handicap), an Information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d) in that “D Hirini allowed her mount DR WATSON to shift out when insufficiently clear of KAIRANGA LAD nearing the 200 metres”.

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Ms Hirini confirmed to the Committee that she understood the charge and she admitted the breach. Mr Breslin, her employer, was present to assist.

Mr Balcombe used the films to identify the individual runners involved. Ms Hirini (DR WATSON) was midtrack and had KAIRANGA LAD to her outside. There was some minor jostling between these two runners but nothing to concern the Stewards until approximately the 200m mark when Ms Hirini angled outwards in search of a run. Her mount was travelling much better than KAIRANGA LAD and the rider, Mr Tinsley, was attempting to hold DR WATSON in. The charge of careless riding was a result of Ms Hirini pushing out when not clear of KAIRANGA LAD causing a check to Mr Tinsley’s mount. Mr Goodwin said while the Stewards were in favour of competitive riding, on this occasion, Ms Hirini had taken it too far. In addition Ms Hirini continued to use her whip when she should have been trying to straighten her line of running.

Mr Breslin said Ms Hirini was an apprentice rider with a 2kg claim and she was still learning. She erred in coming out one horse width too far when in fact she should have been closer in, in which case she would only have brushed Mr Tinsley’s mount.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Goodwin told the Committee that Ms Hirini is a very promising apprentice with a good record. Her only other careless riding charge was at Wairoa one year ago. He said she rarely bothered the Stewards and was always very polite. Mr Goodwin’s submission was for a period of suspension taking into account the lower level of carelessness.

Mr Breslin asked the committee to consider Ms Hirini’s very good record and also explained that she had ridden in the South Island on the West Coast circuit and at Riccarton. Ms Hirini said that while she had never ridden at Ashburton she had fielded calls about riding there.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee advised Ms Hirini of the five day starting point for careless riding charges as outlined in the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees. The Stewards placed the degree of carelessness at the low end however we viewed it as more midrange. Ms Hirini’s outward movement was not insignificant and she continued to ride forward with the whip rather than make an attempt to straighten her mount. Evidence was heard that Mr Tinsley’s mount was tiring, suggesting she did not affect his chances, however he was still entitled to a clear line of running.

Mitigating factors were Ms Hirini’s good record and her admission of the breach. We considered her apprentice rider status as a neutral factor as she has been riding now for approximately 15 months and is not completely inexperienced.

Balancing up all of these factors it was our opinion that a four day suspension was an appropriate penalty.

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: 25091273c071e90f4b5e26f2f83c0c4c


informantnumber: A8751


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Careless Riding


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 26/02/2017


hearing_title: Otaki-Maori RC 25 February 2017 - R 6 - Chair, Mrs N Moffatt


charge:


facts:

Following the running of Race 6, (Hunting & Fishing Otaki Handicap), an Information was lodged by Mr N Goodwin alleging a breach of Rule 638(1) (d) in that “D Hirini allowed her mount DR WATSON to shift out when insufficiently clear of KAIRANGA LAD nearing the 200 metres”.

Rule 638(1) (d) provides: A Rider shall not ride a horse in a manner which the Judicial Committee considers to be careless.

Ms Hirini confirmed to the Committee that she understood the charge and she admitted the breach. Mr Breslin, her employer, was present to assist.

Mr Balcombe used the films to identify the individual runners involved. Ms Hirini (DR WATSON) was midtrack and had KAIRANGA LAD to her outside. There was some minor jostling between these two runners but nothing to concern the Stewards until approximately the 200m mark when Ms Hirini angled outwards in search of a run. Her mount was travelling much better than KAIRANGA LAD and the rider, Mr Tinsley, was attempting to hold DR WATSON in. The charge of careless riding was a result of Ms Hirini pushing out when not clear of KAIRANGA LAD causing a check to Mr Tinsley’s mount. Mr Goodwin said while the Stewards were in favour of competitive riding, on this occasion, Ms Hirini had taken it too far. In addition Ms Hirini continued to use her whip when she should have been trying to straighten her line of running.

Mr Breslin said Ms Hirini was an apprentice rider with a 2kg claim and she was still learning. She erred in coming out one horse width too far when in fact she should have been closer in, in which case she would only have brushed Mr Tinsley’s mount.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Ms Hirini admitted the breach we found the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Goodwin told the Committee that Ms Hirini is a very promising apprentice with a good record. Her only other careless riding charge was at Wairoa one year ago. He said she rarely bothered the Stewards and was always very polite. Mr Goodwin’s submission was for a period of suspension taking into account the lower level of carelessness.

Mr Breslin asked the committee to consider Ms Hirini’s very good record and also explained that she had ridden in the South Island on the West Coast circuit and at Riccarton. Ms Hirini said that while she had never ridden at Ashburton she had fielded calls about riding there.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee advised Ms Hirini of the five day starting point for careless riding charges as outlined in the Penalty Guide for Judicial Committees. The Stewards placed the degree of carelessness at the low end however we viewed it as more midrange. Ms Hirini’s outward movement was not insignificant and she continued to ride forward with the whip rather than make an attempt to straighten her mount. Evidence was heard that Mr Tinsley’s mount was tiring, suggesting she did not affect his chances, however he was still entitled to a clear line of running.

Mitigating factors were Ms Hirini’s good record and her admission of the breach. We considered her apprentice rider status as a neutral factor as she has been riding now for approximately 15 months and is not completely inexperienced.

Balancing up all of these factors it was our opinion that a four day suspension was an appropriate penalty.


penalty:

Ms Hirini is suspended from the close of racing on Sunday February 26th up to and including racing on Saturday March 11th.The days included in this period are:

2/3/17 - Hastings
3/3/17 - Awapuni
10/3/17 - Otaki
11/3/17 - Egmont

Despite Mr Breslin being firm in his submission that Ashburton (Thursday March 9th) should be included in the period of suspension we did not believe that it represented a genuine riding day for Ms Hirini. We heard evidence that she had received requests about riding at Ashburton in the past but Mr Breslin said it hadn’t been worth her while to travel down for only one or two rides. Without a pattern of riding at Ashburton we could not agree to this day being included.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(1)(d)


Informant: Mr N Goodwin - Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Ms D Hirini - Apprentice Rider


Otherperson: Mr M Breslin - Licensed Trainer assisting Ms Hirini, Mr D Balcombe - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 1acb6e043b3cd2eda8ec53e4ac14a62b


race_expapproval:


racecancelled: 0


race_noreport: 0


race_emailed1: 0


race_emailed2: 0


race_title: R 6


submittochair:


race_expappcomment:


race_km:


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race_chair:


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race_pm2:


meetid: 480b900cb9e4c2c6cf2eedee804da131


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 25/02/2017


meet_title: Otaki-Maori RC - 25 February 2017


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


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tracklocation: otaki-maori-rc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: NMoffatt


meet_pm1: PWilliams


meet_pm2: none


name: Otaki-Maori RC