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R Rotorua 12 April 2017 – R 2 – Chair, Mr A Dooley

ID: JCA15506

Applicant:
Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward

Respondent(s):
Mr S Phelan - Licensed Rider

Information Number:
A3538

Hearing Type:
Hearing

New Charge:
Unnecessary use of the whip

Rules:
638(3)(b)(i)

Plea:
admitted

Code:
Thoroughbred

Meet Title:
Racing Rotorua - 12 April 2017

Meet Chair:
ADooley

Race Date:
2017/04/12

Race Number:
R2

Decision:

As Mr Phelan admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

Penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Phelan was fined $300.  In conclusion the Committee advised Mr Phelan with respect to excessive or unnecessary use of the whip where the rider is a repeat offender, a separate starting point is recommended for a 2nd plus breach (within a period of 6 months) of a 3 – 5 riding day suspension.

Facts:

Following the running of race 2, Jakkalberry Highweight, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3) (b)(i). The Informant, Mr Williamson, alleged that Mr Phelan used the whip unnecessarily on the horse RYKER.

Mr Phelan acknowledged that he understood the Rule and admitted the breach.
 
Rule 638(3) (b) provides A Rider shall not:
(i) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary.

Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films that Mr Phelan used his whip 5 times passing the 800 metres when RYKER was racing at the rear of the field. He said the horse was not responding to the whip and had lost about 5 lengths when Mr Phelan then struck his mount 5 more times which was clearly unnecessary.

Mr Phelan said that RYKER was a non trier and the horse needed a strong ride. He added that prior to the 800 metres RYKER was travelling well.

Submissions for Penalty:

Mr Williamson said that Mr Phelan had no whip breaches on his record. He stated that Mr Phelan should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his clear record. He noted the JCA Penalty Guide starting point for a whip breach was a $500 fine.

Mr Phelan said the severity was not bad and was of the view his status as a Jumps / Highweight rider should allow him a further discount in penalty.

Reasons for Penalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors were Mr Phelan’s admission of the breach and his clear record under this Rule. It was obvious when reviewing the incident that the final 5 strikes were certainly unnecessary given that RYKER was out of contention and losing ground.

The Committee adopted the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a $500 fine as the starting point for a 1st offence whip breach. The Committee referred to the JCA listing of penalties for unnecessary whip breaches before determining penalty.  The Committee reminded Mr Phelan that public perception was paramount regarding the whip Rule.

Mr Phelan was advised that his status did not warrant an additional reduction in penalty when it came to unnecessary use of the whip.
After taking into account all the above the Committee considered an appropriate and consistent penalty was a $300 fine.

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: 9c52350b11022f444a7aba9ed173fc31

informantnumber: A3538

horsename:

hearing_racingtype:

startdate: no date provided

newcharge: Unnecessary use of the whip

plea: admitted

penaltyrequired: 1

decisiondate: 13/04/2017

hearing_title: R Rotorua 12 April 2017 - R 2 - Chair, Mr A Dooley

charge:

facts:

Following the running of race 2, Jakkalberry Highweight, an Information was filed pursuant to Rule 638(3) (b)(i). The Informant, Mr Williamson, alleged that Mr Phelan used the whip unnecessarily on the horse RYKER.

Mr Phelan acknowledged that he understood the Rule and admitted the breach.
 
Rule 638(3) (b) provides A Rider shall not:
(i) strike a horse with a whip in a manner or to an extent which is unnecessary.

Mr Williamson demonstrated on the video films that Mr Phelan used his whip 5 times passing the 800 metres when RYKER was racing at the rear of the field. He said the horse was not responding to the whip and had lost about 5 lengths when Mr Phelan then struck his mount 5 more times which was clearly unnecessary.

Mr Phelan said that RYKER was a non trier and the horse needed a strong ride. He added that prior to the 800 metres RYKER was travelling well.

appealdecision:

isappeal:

submissionsfordecision:

reasonsfordecision:

Decision:

As Mr Phelan admitted the breach the Committee find the charge proved.

sumissionsforpenalty:

Mr Williamson said that Mr Phelan had no whip breaches on his record. He stated that Mr Phelan should be given credit for his admission of the breach and his clear record. He noted the JCA Penalty Guide starting point for a whip breach was a $500 fine.

Mr Phelan said the severity was not bad and was of the view his status as a Jumps / Highweight rider should allow him a further discount in penalty.

reasonsforpenalty:

The Committee carefully considered all the evidence and submissions presented. The mitigating factors were Mr Phelan’s admission of the breach and his clear record under this Rule. It was obvious when reviewing the incident that the final 5 strikes were certainly unnecessary given that RYKER was out of contention and losing ground.

The Committee adopted the JCA Penalty Guide which recommends a $500 fine as the starting point for a 1st offence whip breach. The Committee referred to the JCA listing of penalties for unnecessary whip breaches before determining penalty.  The Committee reminded Mr Phelan that public perception was paramount regarding the whip Rule.

Mr Phelan was advised that his status did not warrant an additional reduction in penalty when it came to unnecessary use of the whip.
After taking into account all the above the Committee considered an appropriate and consistent penalty was a $300 fine.

penalty:

Accordingly, Mr Phelan was fined $300.  In conclusion the Committee advised Mr Phelan with respect to excessive or unnecessary use of the whip where the rider is a repeat offender, a separate starting point is recommended for a 2nd plus breach (within a period of 6 months) of a 3 – 5 riding day suspension.

hearing_type: Hearing

Rules: 638(3)(b)(i)

Informant: Mr M Williamson - Senior Stipendiary Steward

JockeysandTrainer: Mr S Phelan - Licensed Rider

Otherperson:

PersonPresent:

Respondent:

StipendSteward:

raceid: 968aa2b6b829c067fddd08eac9ed3737

race_expapproval:

racecancelled: 0

race_noreport: 0

race_emailed1: 0

race_emailed2: 0

race_title: R2

submittochair:

race_expappcomment:

race_km:

race_otherexp:

race_chair:

race_pm1:

race_pm2:

meetid: e13c23985302752d85213c1a01d59acd

meet_expapproval:

meet_noreport: 0

waitingforpublication: 0

meet_emailed1: 0

meet_emailed2: 0

meetdate: 12/04/2017

meet_title: Racing Rotorua - 12 April 2017

meet_expappcomment:

meet_km:

meet_otherexp:

tracklocation: racing-rotorua

meet_racingtype: thoroughbred-racing

meet_chair: ADooley

meet_pm1: none

meet_pm2: none

name: Racing Rotorua