Archive Decision

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Pakuranga HC 25 August 2018 – R 1 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA12054

Applicant:
Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr N Alam - Amateur Rider

Other Person:
Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward

Information Number:
A10067

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Excessive use of whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(ii)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Pakuranga HC - 25 August 2018

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Meet Committee Member 1:
AGodsalve

Race Date:
2018/08/25

Race Number:
R1

Decision:

As Mr Alam admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Alam was fined $250.

Facts:

Following the running of race 1, Flair Amateur Riders Series 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Amateur Rider, Mr N Alam used the whip excessively on INTO THE MYSTIC prior to the 100 metres

Mr Alam confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provides:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.

Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Alam and showed that he struck his mount 12 times prior to the 100 metres. He said there were some pauses but they were not for the minimum 5 strides. He described Mr Alam’s whip action was extravagant.

Mr Alam accepted that he struck his mount 12 times without the required respite prior to the 100 metres.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Oatham said that Mr Alam was having his 3rd race day ride today and was therefore an inexperienced Amateur rider. He said that Mr Alam should be aware of his obligations regarding the use of whip Guidelines. He believed the breach was too far over the limit for Mr Alam to be given a warning. He said an allowance should be considered for Mr Alam’s status and submitted that a $200 fine would be an appropriate penalty.

Mr Alam had no submissions on penalty.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA Penalty Guide starting point for a 1st breach of this Rule is a $300 fine which includes mitigating factors.
As a general rule Judicial Committees will not apply a discount to any proposed penalty for breaches of this Rule unless there are exceptional circumstances.
There were no aggravating factors.
The Committee deemed that with Mr Alam having his 3rd race day ride as an Amateur rider who receives no riding fee could be considered as exceptional circumstances.
INTO THE MYSTIC finished in 6th place.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered a $50 discount from the $300 starting point would be appropriate in this case. This approach is consistent with recent penalties imposed on Amateur riders Mr Isdale and Mr Myers.

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: 32571f90cfef87e5d59384bbfafb8889


informantnumber: A10067


horsename:


hearing_racingtype:


startdate: no date provided


newcharge: Excessive use of whip


plea: admitted


penaltyrequired: 1


decisiondate: 26/08/2018


hearing_title: Pakuranga HC 25 August 2018 - R 1 - Chair, Mr A Dooley


charge:


facts:

Following the running of race 1, Flair Amateur Riders Series 1600, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638 (3)(b)(ii). The Informant, Mr Oatham, alleged that Amateur Rider, Mr N Alam used the whip excessively on INTO THE MYSTIC prior to the 100 metres

Mr Alam confirmed his admission of the breach.

Rule 638(3)(b)(ii) provides: A Rider shall not:

(ii) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is excessive
The “Guidelines With Respect to Acceptable Use of the Whip” provides:
Without affecting the generality of Rule 638(3)(b) a rider may be penalised if their whip use is outside of the following guidelines:

Inside the final 600 metres of any Race, official trial or jump-out a horse may be struck with the drawn whip up to five times after which the rider must cease their use of the whip for a minimum of five strides before striking the horse again with the drawn whip, with this restriction to apply prior to the final 100 metres. The whip may then be used at the rider’s discretion until the winning post is reached.

Prior to the final 600 metres of a race, official trial or jump-out the use of the drawn whip is acceptable if used in moderation and not continually.

Mr Jones demonstrated the incident using the available video footage. He identified Mr Alam and showed that he struck his mount 12 times prior to the 100 metres. He said there were some pauses but they were not for the minimum 5 strides. He described Mr Alam’s whip action was extravagant.

Mr Alam accepted that he struck his mount 12 times without the required respite prior to the 100 metres.


appealdecision:


isappeal:


submissionsfordecision:


reasonsfordecision:


Decision:

As Mr Alam admitted the breach the Committee found the charge proved.


sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Oatham said that Mr Alam was having his 3rd race day ride today and was therefore an inexperienced Amateur rider. He said that Mr Alam should be aware of his obligations regarding the use of whip Guidelines. He believed the breach was too far over the limit for Mr Alam to be given a warning. He said an allowance should be considered for Mr Alam’s status and submitted that a $200 fine would be an appropriate penalty.

Mr Alam had no submissions on penalty.


reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented.
The JCA Penalty Guide starting point for a 1st breach of this Rule is a $300 fine which includes mitigating factors.
As a general rule Judicial Committees will not apply a discount to any proposed penalty for breaches of this Rule unless there are exceptional circumstances.
There were no aggravating factors.
The Committee deemed that with Mr Alam having his 3rd race day ride as an Amateur rider who receives no riding fee could be considered as exceptional circumstances.
INTO THE MYSTIC finished in 6th place.
After taking into account all the above factors the Committee considered a $50 discount from the $300 starting point would be appropriate in this case. This approach is consistent with recent penalties imposed on Amateur riders Mr Isdale and Mr Myers.


penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Alam was fined $250.


hearing_type: Hearing


Rules: 638(3)(b)(ii)


Informant: Mr J Oatham - Chief Stipendiary Steward


JockeysandTrainer: Mr N Alam - Amateur Rider


Otherperson: Mr B Jones - Stipendiary Steward


PersonPresent:


Respondent:


StipendSteward:


raceid: 8de70f546162e31f2ce4b06acb66163d


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: 7b3b42f34a7afaa5643cf48f4d9f1924


meet_expapproval:


meet_noreport: 0


waitingforpublication: 0


meet_emailed1: 0


meet_emailed2: 0


meetdate: 25/08/2018


meet_title: Pakuranga HC - 25 August 2018


meet_expappcomment:


meet_km:


meet_otherexp:


tracklocation: pakuranga-hc


meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing


meet_chair: ADooley


meet_pm1: AGodsalve


meet_pm2: none


name: Pakuranga HC